Giant hatchetfish

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Giant hatchetfish
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Stomiiformes
Family: Sternoptychidae
Subfamily: Sternoptychinae
Genus: Argyropelecus
Species: A. gigas
Binomial name
Argyropelecus gigas
Norman, 1930

The giant hatchetfish, Argyropelecus gigas, a marine hatchetfish of the genus Argyropelecus, is found in deep tropical and subtropical waters of all oceans, except the north Pacific. Its length is between 8 and 12 cm, and it is the largest fish in its family.

The giant hatchetfish is a deep-bodied species with large eyes that are directed upwards, enabling prey to be silhouetted against the faint light coming from the surface, and a large mouth also directed upwards. The whole belly is covered in downward directed photophores, which are thought to disguise the fish's dark shape from other upward-looking predators.

This silvery coloured plankton-eating fish lives at depths of bebetween 300 and 650 m.

[edit] References