Northern lampfish

The northern lampfish (Stenobrachius leucopsarus), also known as smallfin lanternfish,[1] is a small oceanic fish in the family Myctophidae. First described by husband and wife ichthyologists Carl H. and Rosa Smith Eigenmann in 1890,[2] it is named for the numerous small round photophores that line the ventral surface of its head and body.

Northern lampfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Myctophiformes
Family:
Myctophidae
Genus:
Stenobrachius
Species:
S. leucopsarus
Binomial name
Stenobrachius leucopsarus

A blunt-nosed, relatively large-mouthed fish with small teeth and large eyes,[3] it is gray to dark greenish blue on its dorsal surface and paler ventrally, with black on its fins and operculum.[2] Its large scales rub off easily.[3] Adults can reach 13 centimetres (5 in) in length[3] and live as long as 8 years.[2]

Found in the Pacific Ocean from Japan and Baja California to the Bering Sea,[3] it is the most common species of lanternfish in the northwestern Pacific,[4] and one of the most abundant larval fish in the California Current.[5] Like all lanternfish, this is a deep sea species; it spends the day in the ocean's deeper bathypelagic and mesopelagic zones and ascends to or near the ocean's surface during the night.[3][4] It is a cool-water fish.[6]

Like most fish, it is oviparous;[2] It feeds on plankton,[7] and is eaten by numerous predators, including fish such as salmon and tuna[3] and birds such as the red-legged kittiwake.[8]

References
  1. Froese, R.; Pauly, D., eds. (2014). "Stenobrachius leucopsarus (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1890) Northern lampfish". FishBase. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  2. Froese, R.; Pauly, D., eds. (2014). "Common names of Stenobrachius leucopsarus". FishBase. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  3. Eschmeyer, William N.; Herald, Olivia Walker; Mammann, Howard; Gnagy, John (1983). A Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes: North America. New York, NY, US: Houghton Mifflin. p. 94. ISBN 0-395-26873-7.
  4. Beamish, Richard James, ed. (1995). Climate Change and Northern Fish Populations. Ottawa, ON, Canada: National Research Council of Canada. p. 170. ISBN 0-660-15780-2.
  5. Dailey, Murray D.; Reish, Donald J.; Anderson, Jack W., eds. (1993). Ecology of the Southern California Bight: A Synthesis and Interpretation. Berkeley, CA, US: University of California Press. p. 477. ISBN 0-520-07578-1.
  6. McClatchie, Sam (2014). Regional Fisheries Oceanography of the California Current System: The CalCOFI program. New York, NY, US: Springer Science and Business Media. p. 172. ISBN 978-94-007-7222-9.
  7. Kruckeberg, Arthur R. (1991). The Natural History of Puget Sound Country. Seattle, WA, US: University of Washington Press. p. 90. ISBN 0-295-97477-X.
  8. Coulson, John (2011). "The Kittiwake". London, UK: T & AD Poyser. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-4081-0966-3.
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