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Stomiiformes
Stomiiformes is an order of deep-sea ray-finned fishes of very diverse morphology. It includes, for example, dragonfishes, lightfishes ( Gonostomatidae and Phosichthyidae), loosejaws, marine hatchetfishes and viperfishes. The order contains 4 families (5 according to some authors) with more than 50 genera and at least 410 species. As usual for deep-sea fishes, there are few common names for species of the order, but the Stomiiformes as a whole are often called dragonfishes and allies or simply stomiiforms. The scientific name means "''Stomias''-shaped", from '' Stomias'' (the type genus) + the standard fish order suffix "-formes". It ultimately derives from Ancient Greek ''stóma'' (στόμᾶ, "mouth") + Latin ''forma'' ("external form"), the former in reference to the huge mouth opening of these fishes. Description and ecology Members of this order are mostly pelagic fishes living in deep oceanic waters. Their distribution around the world's oceans is very wide, ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phosichthyidae
Lightfishes are small stomiiform fishes in the family Phosichthyidae The earliest fossils of lightfishes are from Oligocene-aged Paratethyan marine strata in the Czech Republic. They are very small fishes found in oceans throughout the world: most species grow no longer than 10 cm, while those in the genus ''Vinciguerria'' only reach 4 cm or so. They make up for their small size with abundant numbers: ''Vinciguerria'' is thought — with the possible exception of ''Cyclothone'' — to be the most abundant genus of vertebrates. Deep-sea trawls of the Humboldt Current in the southeast Pacific have found that lightfishes make up 85% by mass of mesopelagic fishes, with ''Vinciguerria lucetia'' by far the most numerous species. They are bioluminescent Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some Fungus, fun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
