Notolychnus valdiviae
No common name
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Myctophiformes (Lanternfishes)
Myctophidae (Lanternfishes)
Notolychnus
Notolychnus valdiviae
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, with a large mouth, and dorsal and anal fin bases of about equal length. Snout is acute. Jaws extend slightly less than eye diameter beyond posterior margin of orbit, and maxilla is abruptly expanded posteriorly. Posterior margin of operculum is rounded. Gill rakers number 10 or 11. Dorsal fin originates posterior to pelvic fin base and has 10 to 12 rays. Pectoral fin extends to VO and has 12 or 13 rays. Anal fin originates about under mid-base of dorsal fin and has 12 to 14 rays. Dn is small. PVO is above and behind VVO. PLO is in contact with, or within its diameter below, horizontal septum. Five PO are present, with PO3 and PO4 elevated, and PO4 nearly in contact with lateral line. VLO is about 2 times its diameter below dorsal fin origin. Four VO are present, with VO2 elevated and over or slightly anterior to VO4. SAO form slight angle, with SAO1 usually slightly posterior to VO4, and SAO3 near end of dorsal fin base. Pol is just below horizontal septum, and Pol is 1 to 2 times its diameter below adipose fin base. AOa number four, with last behind anal fin base. AOp number three or four and are widely spaced. Two Prc are present, with second above first and above horizontal septum. Both sexes have undivided supracaudal luminous gland, but it is larger in males.
Distribution
Cape Cod to northern Argentina, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Tropical to subtropical waters worldwide; daytime depths range from 375 to 850 m, and nighttime depths range from 25 to 800 m
Biology
Food consists largely of copepods, ostracods, and euphausiids
Maximum known size is 25 mm SL
Maturity is reached at about 18 mm SL for females. Sexual maturity is reached at about four months, and life span is about six months. Fecundity ranges from 60 to 100 eggs and increases with body size. Spawning frequency is every three days for the smallest females and every one and one-half days for the largest females, and takes place around midnight between 50 and 75 m.
High-oceanic, epipelagic and mesopelagic (Ref. 4479). Found between 375-700 m during the day and between 25-350 m at night (Ref. 4066). Size stratification with depth during the day only (Ref. 4775). Juveniles migratory; adults migratory, partially migratory or non-migratory (Ref. 4775). Feed on copepods, conchoecid ostracods and euphausiids (Ref. 4775). Oviparous, with planktonic eggs and larvae (Ref. 31442). Also Ref. 58302.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-07-11. Resilience: Medium (tmax=1; k >0.30).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from the other species of the family by the combination of characters described
References
Nafpaktitis et al. 1977
Hulley 1984b
Hulley 1986b
Gartner et al. 1987
Gartner et al. 1989
Gartner 1993
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.
Claro, R. (1994) Características generales de la ictiofauna. p. 55-70. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo.
Moser, H.G. and E.H. Ahlstrom (1996) Myctophidae: lanternfishes. p. 387-475. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current Region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. 1505 p.
Wang, J.T.-M. and C.-T. Chen (2001) A review of lanternfishes (Families: Myctophidae and Neoscopelidae) and their distributions around Taiwan and the Tungsha islands with notes on seventeen new records. Zool. Stud. 40(2):103-126.
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