Diaphus perspicillatus
No common name
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Myctophiformes (Lanternfishes)
Myctophidae (Lanternfishes)
Diaphus
Diaphus perspicillatus
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; moderately large mouth; dorsal fin base slightly longer than anal fin base; snout blunt; jaws extend 0.6 to 0.8 times diameter of eye beyond posterior orbital margin; maxilla not expanded posteriorly; head 31% to 35% of SL; posterior margin of operculum tapers to acute angle near PLO; gill rakers number 26 to 29; dorsal fin originates anterior to pelvic fin base and has 15 to 17 rays; pectoral fin extends almost to pelvic fin base and has 11 or 12 rays; anal fin originates behind dorsal fin base and has 14 or 15 rays; Dn large, triangular, and directed anteriorly; Vn large and extends from Dn to anteroventral margin of orbit; PVO, PVO, and PO in straight line; PLO midway between lateral line and pectoral fin base; five PO present, and PO4 elevated; VLO closer to pelvic fin base than to lateral line; five VO present, with VO1, VO2, and VO3 progressively elevated; SAO form straight to nearly straight line; Pol in contact with lateral line; AOa number five to seven, with first and last elevated; AOp number four to six, and first is elevated and generally behind, but occasionally over, anal fin base; four Prc form slight arc, with Prc4 1.5 to 2.5 times its diameter below lateral line; luminous scale located at PLO
Distribution
Cape Cod to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Gulf of Mexico (not abundant)
Habitat Associations
Tropical waters; daytime depths range from 375 to 750 m, and nighttime depths range from the surface to 125 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 70 mm SL
Maturity is reached at about 50 to 58 mm SL
Oceanic, found between 375-750 m during the day and nyctoepipelagic at surface down to 125 m (Ref. 4479). Mesopelagic at 0-240 m at night, 315-1500 m during day (Ref. 58302). Seem to reach sexual maturity at a length between 5 and 5.5 cm (Ref. 47377).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-07-10. Resilience: High (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
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.
Bernardes, R.Á. and C.L.D.B. Rossi-Wongtschowski (2000) Length-weight relationship of small pelagic fish species of the southeast and south Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone. Naga, ICLARM Q. 23(4):30-32.
Clarke, T.A. (1980) Diets of fourteen species of vertically migrating mesopelagic fishes in Hawaiian waters. Fish. Bull. 78(3):619-640.
Russian Academy of Sciences (2000) Catalog of vertebrates of Kamchatka and adjacent waters. Kamchatsky Pechatny Dvor, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia. 166 p.
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