Tinselfish

Tinselfishes

Thorny tinselfish, Grammicolepis brachiusculus, filmed by the NOAA Ocean Explorer at Northampton Seamounts, 40 miles (65 km) southwest of Laysan, Hawaii.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Zeiformes
Family:	Grammicolepididae
Genera
Grammicolepis Macrurocyttus Xenolepidichthys

Grammicolepididae is a small family of deep-sea fishes, called tinselfishes due to their silvery color.

They are related to the dories, and have similar deeply compressed bodies. The largest species, the thorny tinselfish, Grammicolepis brachiusculus, grows up to 64 centimetres (25 in) long.

They are found in isolated areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, where they inhabit deep waters: they have been found down to about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). They are rarely caught in trawls. Five have been caught south of the Bay of Biscay. One was caught off Scotland in 2004, and one off Co. Kerry, Ireland in December 2010 by Rossaveal trawler "Maria Magdelena III"

Species

There are three species in three genera:

Genus Grammicolepis
- Thorny tinselfish, Grammicolepis brachiusculus Poey, 1873.
Genus Macrurocyttus
- Macrurocyttus acanthopodus Fowler, 1934.
Genus Xenolepidichthys
- Spotted tinselfish, Xenolepidichthys dalgleishi Gilchrist, 1922.

References

Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Grammicolepididae" in FishBase. February 2006 version.
"Thorny Tinselfish". Australian Museum Fish Site. http://www.amonline.net.au/FISHES/fishfacts/fish/gbrachi.htm. Retrieved 30 March 2006.
{Irish Times 23rd December 2010}