Diaphus splendidus
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Myctophiformes (Lanternfishes)
Myctophidae (Lanternfishes)
Diaphus
Diaphus splendidus
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; anal fin base slightly longer than dorsal fin base; snout moderately blunt; jaws extend 1.2 to 1.5 times eye diameter beyond posterior orbital margin; maxilla not posteriorly expanded; head 28% to 31% of SL; posterior opercular margin tapers to angle near PLO; gill rakers 17 to 20; dorsal fin originates over or slightly anterior to pelvic fin base with 14 or 15 rays; pectoral fin extends nearly to pelvic fin base with 11 or 12 rays; anal fin originates over or slightly posterior to dorsal fin base with 15 to 17 rays; Dn round and directed anteriorly; Vn triangular and extends from Dn to below anterior margin of orbit; small luminous organ ventromedial to Dn; PVO1, PVO2, and ?O1 in straight line; PLO closer to base of pectoral fin than to lateral line; five PO present, and PO4 elevated; VLO closer to lateral line than to pelvic fin base; five VO present, and VO1, VO2, and VO3 progressively elevated; SAO form slight angle; Pol in contact with lateral line; AOa number six or seven, with first and last elevated; AOp number five to seven, with first over anal fin base; four Prc form arc, with Prc4 0.5 to 1 times its diameter below lateral line; large luminous scale at PLO
Distribution
New York to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Habitat Associations
Tropical to subtropical waters; daytime depths 500 to 650 m, nighttime depths 50 to 250 m
Biology
Maximum known size 90 mm SL
Maturity reached at about 50 to 55 mm SL
Oceanic and mesopelagic, found between 375-750 m during the day; between 40-225 m at night (maximum abundance at 100 m depth) (Ref. 4479).
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.
Bogutskaya, N.G. (2007) Preliminary assignment of coordinates to type localities in the Catalog of Fishes. Unpublished dbf file.
Comments On Diaphus splendidus