Hygophum benoiti
No common name
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Myctophiformes (Lanternfishes)
Myctophidae (Lanternfishes)
Hygophum
Hygophum benoiti
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
Relatively slender and compressed body; small mouth; anal fin base longer than dorsal fin base; snout acute; jaws extend slightly past posterior orbital margin; maxilla broadly expanded posteriorly; operculum with angular posterior margin; gill rakers 18-20; dorsal fin originates posterior to pelvic fin base with 12-14 rays; pectoral fin extends to near anal fin base with 13-15 rays; anal fin originates under posterior end of dorsal fin base with 19-21 rays; Dn, Vn, and Suo present; Vn larger than Dn; PVO, PVO, and PO in line; PLO about equidistant between lateral line and pectoral fin base; 5 PO; VLO midway between lateral line and pelvic fin base; 4 VO; SAO form obtuse angle; 2 Pol in line with last AOa; AOa number 5-7; AOp number 5-7; 2 Prc separate from AOp and below lateral line
Males have a single undivided supracaudal luminous gland outlined with black tissue; females have an infracaudal luminous gland that may be subdivided into three or four components, and occasionally have a poorly developed supracaudal gland
Distribution
Cape Cod to southern Florida, and in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Subtropical to temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean; daytime depths 250-1,050 m, nighttime depths surface-1,000 m
Biology
Maximum known size 55 mm SL
Maturity reached at about 40 mm SL
High-oceanic, found below 700 m during the day and above 600 m at night (maximum abundance between 51-100 m and 301-350 m at night) (Ref. 4479). Juveniles and post-larvae are partial and non-migrants (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 et al. 1977
Hulley 1984b
Gartner et al. 1987
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.
Badouvas, N., S. Somarakis and K. Tsagarakis (2022) Length-weight relations of 16 mesopelagic fishes (Actinopterygii: Myctophiformes and Stomiiformes) from the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Acta Ichthyol. Pisc. 52(4):279-283. DOI: 10.3897/aiep.52.97577
Scotto di Carlo, B., G. Costanzo, E. Fresi, L. Guglielmo and A. Ianora (1982) Feeding ecology and stranding mechanisms in two lanternfishes, Hygophum benoiti and Myctophum punctatum. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 9:13-24. DOI: 10.3354/meps009013
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