Common names: cusk-eel (English), congriperla (Espanol)
 
Lepophidium negropinna Hildebrand & Barton, 1949

Speckled cusk-eel,     Speckle-fin cusk-eel

Elongate, eel-like; head low, compressed; tail compressed, tapering to a point; head long, low, as wide as high at preopercle; snout spine prominent, reaching well beyond tip of top jaw; eye ~ 1/5 head length; mouth large, broad, nearly horizontal; top jaw ends well beyond eye; teeth on jaws small, simple, in bands; no tooth patch on base of gill arches;  17 gill rakers; opercle with concealed spine; dorsal origin a little behind base of pectoral; pectoral long, reaching over ½ way to anal fin; dorsal ~ 128 rays; anal ~ 114 rays; dorsal and anal fins low, confluent with tail; each pelvic is a pair of small threads inserted under eye; scales round, small, in regular rows, on head extending to between or before eyes, on cheeks and opercle, ~ 225 in lateral series.


Body uniform dark brown, a little paler below; inside of gill chamber pale; margin of dorsal fin black, inner part light with many small dark spots and streaks; tail and anal fins blackish; pelvics pale; pectoral a little darker than body.

Size: 52 cm.

Habitat: demersal on soft bottoms.

Depth: 20-390 m.

Southern Baja and the Gulf of California; Costa Rica to Chile.