Sloane's viperfish, Chauliodus sloani, is a predatory mesopelagic dragonfish found in waters across the world. The species was first described by German scientists Marcus Elieser Bloch and Johann Gottlob Schneider in their 1801 book Systema ichthyologiae: iconibus CX illustratum, volume 1. Female C. sloani reach maturity between 133 and 191 mm, while males likely reach maturity at slightly smaller body lengths. It has two rows of photophores along its ventral side. It is believed that C. sloani can adjust the intensity of bioluminescence of the ventral photophores to camouflage itself from predators that might see its shadow from below.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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PiscivoresA piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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PlanktivoreA planktivore is an aquatic organism that feeds on planktonic food, including zooplankton and phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are usually photosynthet...
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CosmopolitanAnimals with cosmopolitan distribution are those whose range extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Another aspect of cos...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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starts withC. sloani is found in tropical and temperate waters. It is widespread in the Atlantic Ocean and the western Mediterranean Sea, as well as the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Temperature restricts Sloane’s Viperfish vertical distribution.
In the Atlantic, its latitudinal range is from 35°N - 55°N, with highest abundance around 45°N. In the Arabian Sea, its range is primarily south of 10°N.
In the central Mediterranean Sea, C. sloani is eaten as a primary part of the diet of the Atlantic bluefin tuna. Analysis of several cetaceans' stomach contents found remnants of C. sloani, including the pygmy sperm whale and Gervais's beaked whale. Both were found beached on the Canary Islands.
C. sloani is a major consumer of myctophids (lanternfishes), other bony fishes, and crustaceans. An average C. sloani individual probably consumes at least one lanternfish every twelve days and there is no evidence to suggest that they increase their intake of food the bigger they are. Consequently, the stomachs of smaller individuals have been found containing proportionally larger prey than the prey found in the stomachs of larger individuals. However, they are not picky in their diet — they also eat other fishes, eggs, and algae. This is another thing that distinguishes them from the C. danae, which feeds mainly on crustaceans, however there has been evidence that shows smaller variations had crustaceans included in the stomach during stomach content analysis. C. sloani typically feed on large prey, and in some cases was documented to consume prey up to 50% of its own bodyweight, and the size of their prey allows them to feed rarely and opportunistically while maximizing energetic efficiency. This is consistent with the observation that only individuals under 120 mm in length were found with crustaceans in their stomach contents. The fish is considered a specialist predator given the small list of prey that were observed in the stomach content analysis. Some examples of nektonic prey include Cyclothone, Bregmaceros, Diaphus, Lampanyctus, and Myctophum. In a study to determine the effect of seasonal changes on feeding behavior, no significant difference was determined for C. sloani, and all of the prey items observed were fishes. Earlier research found that of the 28 fish species preyed on, 18 were myctophids. There was no observation of a diurnal feeding pattern, meaning their feeding was not affected by time of day.
