| Bristlemouths Temporal range: Miocene–Recent |
|
|---|---|
| Elongated bristlemouth, Gonostoma elongatum (top) and Bonapartia pedaliota (bottom) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Stomiiformes |
| Family: | Gonostomatidae |
| Genera | |
|
Bonapartia |
|
Gonostomatidae is a family of deep-water marine fish, commonly named bristlemouths, lightfishes or anglemouths. It is a relatively small family, containing only eight known genera and 32 species. However, bristlemouths make up for their lack of diversity with numbers: Cyclothone, with 12 species, is thought to be (along with Vinciguerria), the most abundant vertebrate genus in the world.
The fossil record of this family dates back to the Miocene epoch, and was discovered by L. S. Berg in 1958. The fish are mostly found in the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, although the species Cyclothone microdon may be found in Arctic waters. They have elongated bodies from 2 centimetres (0.79 in) to 30 centimetres (12 in) in length.[1] They have a number of green or red light-producing photophores aligned along the undersides of their heads or bodies. Their chief common name, bristlemouth, comes from their odd equally-sized and bristle-like teeth. Due to the depth in which they live, where very little light penetrates, the fish is typically colored black so as to hide from prey.
Some classifications include the genera Pollichthys and Vinciguerria, but this article follows FishBase in placing them in the family Phosichthyidae.
Some classifications include species in the genus Zaphotias, but these are junior synonyms of the species Bonapartia pedaliota.