Sloane's Viperfish

C. 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. …