Diaphus fragilis
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Myctophiformes (Lanternfishes)
Myctophidae (Lanternfishes)
Diaphus
Diaphus fragilis
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Moderately slender and compressed, large mouth, dorsal and anal fin bases about equal in length. Snout is blunt. Jaws extend 0.7 to 1.0 times diameter of eye beyond posterior orbit margin, and maxilla is not expanded posteriorly. Head is 28% to 32.5% of SL. Operculum tapers to acute angle below PLO. Gill rakers number 17 to 19. Dorsal fin originates slightly in advance of pelvic fin base and has 17 to 19 rays. Pectoral fin does not extend to pelvic fin base and has 11 to 13 rays. Anal fin originates slightly anterior to end of dorsal fin base and has 17 to 18 rays. Dn is equal in size to nasal rosette and is directed forward. Vn is continuous with Dn along anterior and anteroventral aspect of orbit and extends to near anterior margin of pupil. Ant is located above Dn. PVO1, PVO2, and POi are in straight line, with PVO2 anterior to lower end of pectoral fin base. PLO is closer to lateral line than to pectoral fin base. Five PO are present, and PO4 is elevated. VLO is midway between lateral line and pelvic fin base or slightly higher. Five VO are present, with VO1, VO2, and VO3 progressively elevated. SAO form straight line, with SAO1 above VO5, and SAO3 over or slightly anterior to anal fin base and less than its diameter below lateral line. Pol is less than its diameter below lateral line. AOa number six or seven, with AOaj elevated above and slightly in front of AO2, and last AO elevated. AOp number four to six, with first AOp over or just behind anal fin base. Four Prc form gentle arc, with Prc4 about 2 times its diameter below lateral line. Luminous scale is located at PLO.
Distribution
New Jersey to central Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Tropical waters, daytime depths range from 350 to 750 m, and nighttime depths range from 40 to 200 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 90 mm SL
Maturity is reached by about 65 to 70 mm SL
Mesopelagic (Ref. 58302). Oceanic species found at 520-600 m by day and at 15-125 m by night (Ref. 4479).
Specimens reach sexual maturity at a length of 7,3 cm (Ref. 47377).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-07-10. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
References
Nafpaktitis 1968
Nafpaktitis et al. 1977
Uyeno et al. 1983
Hulley 1986b
Gartner et al. 1987
Hulley, P.A. (1986) Myctophidae. p. 282-321. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Hulley, P.A. (1990) Myctophidae. p. 398-467. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI; Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1.
Clarke, T.A. (1980) Diets of fourteen species of vertically migrating mesopelagic fishes in Hawaiian waters. Fish. Bull. 78(3):619-640.
Chen, S. (2002) Fauna Sinica, Osteichthyes. Myctophiformes, Cetomimiformes, Osteoglossiformes. 349p. Fauna Sinica series. Beijing: Science Press.
Iwamoto, T. and J.E. McCosker (2014) Deep-water fishes of the 2011 Hearst Philippine biodiversity expedition of the California Academy of Sciences. pp. 263-332. In Williams, G.C. and T.M. Gosliner (eds.) 2014. The Coral Triangle: the 2011 Hearst Philippine biodiversity expedition. California: San Francisco, California Academy of Sciences, 593 p.
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