| Family: |
Myctophidae (Lanternfishes), subfamily: Myctophinae |
| Max. size: |
10.3 cm SL (male/unsexed); max. reported age: 8 years |
| Environment: |
pelagic-oceanic; marine; depth range 0 - 1407 m, non-migratory |
| Distribution: |
Eastern Atlantic: Norway and Greenland south to Morocco, and from Mauritania to Guinea (Mauritanian Upwelling Region). Seasonally present from Morocco to Mauritania along the edge of the continental shelf. Also known from the Mediterranean Sea. Western Atlantic: Baffin Bay to northern edge of Gulf Stream. Northwest Atlantic: Canada (Ref. 5951). |
| Diagnosis: |
Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-14; Anal soft rays: 17-19. Males with single black-bordered supracaudal gland; females with two infra-caudal luminous patches; occasional specimens with both. Luminous organs in the anal area, 5-6 anteriorly and 5-7 posteriorly, 11-13 total. |
| Biology: |
High-oceanic, mesopelagic at depths between 375-800 m during daytime and 12-200 m during night. Depth range from 0-850 m (Ref. 4479) and from 541-1085 m in the eastern Ionian Sea (Ref. 56504). Photophores present. Feeds mainly on calanoid copepods, also euphausiids and copepodites. Feeding occurs at night in Norwegian fjords (Ref. 9209) and in northwest Africa (Ref. 9194). Mature from about 3 cm onward. Spawning peaks in the Mediterranean in late spring with east-to-west progression. Female produces 160-2,000 eggs depending on her size (Ref. 35388). |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 10 July 2012 Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
harmless |
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