''Barbantus curvifrons'', commonly known as the palebelly searsid, is a species of ray-finned fish known from the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the eastern Atlantic Ocean where it has been found at depths below . The generic name ''Barbantus'' is derived from the Latin, "barba", a beard.

Description

This species has a moderately elongate and laterally compressed body. The lower jaw has a short sideways-projecting spine on either side near the tip. The dorsal fin has 15 to 21 soft rays and the anal fin has 14 to 17. The small pelvic fins are at the midpoint of the body, the origin of the dorsal fin is slightly behind this and the origin of the anal fin is below the centre of the dorsal fin. This fish is a uniformly dark colour except for a row of light-coloured, opalescent scales along the belly. It grows to a maximum length of SL, but is a more normal size.

Distribution and habitat

''Barbantus curvifrons'' has a wide distribution. Its range includes subtropical and tropical waters in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and temperate, subtropical and tropical waters in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

southwards to Angola; it is absent from the western Atlantic. It is generally a

bathypelagic The bathypelagic zone or bathyal zone (from Greek βαθύς (bathýs), deep) is the part of the open ocean that extends from a depth of below the ocean surface. It lies between the mesopelagic above, and the abyssopelagic below. The bathypelagic ...

species, occurring at depths greater than ; its occasional capture between is indicative of a pattern of diurnal vertical migration. In a particularly warm period between 1996 and 2005, it was found at off the coast of Greenland, well to the north of its normal range.

Status

''Barbantus curvifrons'' has a widespread distribution but does not seem to be a common species. It is not of interest to fisheries and lives at such great depths that it is likely to face few threats, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of " least concern".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3267452 Platytroctidae Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish of the Indian Ocean Fish of the Pacific Ocean Fish described in 1931 Taxa named by Fernand Angel Taxa named by Louis Roule