alligatorfish
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Aspidophoroides monopterygius.jpg
| taxon = Aspidophoroides monopterygius
| authority = (Bloch, 1786)
| synonyms = {{Specieslist
|Cottus monopterygius|Bloch, 1786
|Cottus indicus|Bonnaterre, 1788
|Aspidophoroides tranquebar| Lacépède, 1801
|Aspidophoroides groenlandicus|Valenciennes, 1840
|Aspidophoroides borealis|Valenciennes, 1841
|Aspidophoroides bartoni|Gilbert, 1896
}}
}}
The alligatorfish (Aspidophoroides monopterygius), also known commonly as the Aleutian alligatorfish and the Atlantic alligatorfish,[http://www.fishbase.org/comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=4157&GenusName=Aspidophoroides&SpeciesName=monopterygius&StockCode=4353 Common names for Aspidophoroides monopterygius] at www.fishbase.org. is a fish in the family Agonidae.[http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Aspidophoroides-monopterygius.html Aspidophoroides monopterygius] at www.fishbase.org. It was described by Marcus Elieser Bloch in 1786.Bloch, M. E., 1786 [ref. 465] Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische. Berlin. v. 2: i-viii + 1-160, Pls. 145–180. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling fish which is known from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, including western Greenland; Labrador, Canada; and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. It dwells at a depth range of 0–695 metres, most often around 60–150 m, and inhabits sand and mud bottoms mostly on the lower continental shelf all year. It prefers a temperature range of -1.07 to 2.52 °C. Males can reach a maximum total length of 22 centimetres, but more commonly reach a TL of 14.2 cm.
The Alligatorfish is preyed on by the Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) and the Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis).[http://www.fishbase.org/TrophicEco/PredatorList.php?ID=4157&GenusName=Aspidophoroides&SpeciesName=monopterygius Organisms preying on Aspidophoroides monopterygius] at www.fishbase.org. Its own diet consists primarily of benthic crustaceans and bottom fauna.[http://www.fishbase.org/TrophicEco/FoodItemsList.php?vstockcode=4353&genus=Aspidophoroides&species=monopterygius Food items reported for Aspidophoroides monopterygius] at www.fishbase.org.