Fish of the Hoplostethus genus of the Trachichthyidae (slimeheads) family of the Trachichthyoidei order of the Acanthopterygii superorder.
(Mediterranean slimehead. Photo by © pierlu. naturamediterraneo.com)
Mediterranean slimehead (Hoplostethus mediterraneus) was first described in 1829 by the French naturalist and zoologist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832).
It inhabits the depth of 100-1,175 meters. It prefers to swim close to the oozy bottom. During the day, it usually swims in the deep sea. At night, it can swim up to the surface. The maximum recorded length is 42 cm; specimens up to 20 cm long are more often found. It feeds on crustaceans, mollusks and small fish.
(Mediterranean slimehead. Photo by © João Delgado. fishbase.org)
It is the inhabitant of the southern part of the Adriatic Sea.
Names of Mediterranean slimehead (Hoplostethus mediterraneus) in other languages as follows:
Peshk pasqyre (Albanian), Οπλόστηθος (Opljostithos) (Greek), Reloj mediterráneo (Spanish), Pesce specchio (Italian), Mittelmeer-Kaiserbarsch (German), Gardłosz śródziemnomorski (Polish), Средиземноморский большеголов (Sredizemnomorskiy boljshegolov) (Russian), Zvjezdook (Serbian, Croatian), Sredozemska sluzoglavka (Slovenian), Hoplostète argenté (French).