Myctophum affine
Metallic Lanternfish
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Myctophiformes (Lanternfishes)
Myctophidae (Lanternfishes)
Myctophum
Myctophum affine (Metallic Lanternfish)
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; anal fin base longer than dorsal fin base; snout blunt; jaws extend slightly beyond posterior margin of orbit; maxilla moderately expanded posteriorly; posterior margin of operculum obtusely angled; postero-dorsal margin convex; gill rakers 18-22; dorsal fin originates over pelvic fin base with 12 or 13 rays; pectoral fin extends to VO with 13 or 14 rays; anal fin originates below or slightly behind end of dorsal fin base with 18 to 20 rays; Dn and Vn small; PVO, PVO, and PO form straight line; PLO midway between lateral line and pectoral fin base; 5 PO; VLO midway between lateral line and pelvic fin base; 4 VO; SAO form straight line with VO; SAO3 about 0.5 times its diameter below lateral line; single Pol about 0.5 times its diameter below lateral line; AOa number 7-9; AOp number 4-6; 2 Prc separate from AOp series; males with supracaudal luminous gland of 7 or 8 overlapping scale-like structures; females with infracaudal luminous structure of 3 or 4 oval to lanceolate patches
Distribution
Cape Cod to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico
Common in the Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean; daytime depths 300-650 m; nighttime depths surface to 275 m
Biology
Maximum known size about 79 mm SL
Maturity reached at about 46-58 mm SL; fecundity 550-3,000 eggs, increasing with body size
High-oceanic, nyctoepipelagic at the surface and down to 275 m and found between 300-600 m during the day (Ref. 4479). Feeds on plankton (Ref. 26938). Females reach sexual maturity at 4.2 cm (Ref. 47377).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-07-11. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
Nafpaktitis et al. 1977
Gartner et al. 1987
Gartner 1993
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.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Comments On Myctophum affine