Neoscopelidae

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Blackchins
Large-scaled Lanternfish
Neoscopelus macrolepidotus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Myctophiformes
Family: Neoscopelidae
Danilchenko, 1947
Genera

Neoscopelus
Scopelengys
Solivomer

The Neoscopelidae (blackchins or neoscopelids) are a small family of deep sea fish closely related to the lanternfish. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine waters worldwide.[1]

They can be distinguished from the lanternfish only by a few technical characters, such as the position of the anal fin being far behind that of the dorsal fin. Some, but not all, species also lack the light-emitting organs (photophores) of the lanternfish. They are typically between 20 centimetres (7.9 in) and 30 centimetres (12 in) in length.[2] One genus has photophores arranged in a single series along the edge of the tongue and one or two along the ventral surface of the body.

Species

There are just six known species of neoscopelid, grouped into three genera:[2]

References

  1. ↑ Hulley, P. Alexander (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N., ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 127–128. ISBN 0-12-547665-5. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2008). "Neoscopelidae" in FishBase. December 2008 version.
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