''Argyropelecus'' is an

ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the deep sea hatchetfish

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Sternoptychidae The marine hatchetfishes or deep-sea hatchetfishes as well as the related bottlelights, pearlsides and constellationfishes are small deep-sea ray-finned fish of the stomiiform family Sternoptychidae. They are not closely related to and shoul ...

. A collective name is " silver hatchetfishes", but this can also refer to a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of the

freshwater hatchetfish The freshwater hatchetfish are a family, Gasteropelecidae, of ray-finned fish from South and Central America. The common hatchetfish is the most popular member among fish keeping hobbyists. The family includes three genera: '' Carnegiella'' (f ...

es which are not particularly closely related to this. The large

pupil The pupil is a hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company. It appears black becau ...

s of these marine hatchetfishes enable them to see dim objects in the

deep sea The deep sea is broadly defined as the ocean depth where light begins to fade, at an approximate depth of or the point of transition from continental shelves to continental slopes. Conditions within the deep sea are a combination of low tempe ...

, where light barely penetrates.

Species

There are currently seven recognized extant species in this genus: * '' Argyropelecus aculeatus''

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, 1850 (lovely hatchetfish, Atlantic silver hatchetfish) * ''

Argyropelecus affinis ''Argyropelecus affinis'' is a species of Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish in the family Sternoptychidae, described by Garman in 1899, found in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Common names for this fish include Pa ...

Garman Garman is a surname or first name. Notable people with the name include: Sports * Ann Garman, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player * Judi Garman (born 1954), American softball coach * Mike Garman (born 1949), American baseball pla ...

, 1899 (Pacific hatchetfish) * '' Argyropelecus gigas''

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

, 1930 (giant hatchetfish, greater silver hatchetfish) * '' Argyropelecus hemigymnus'' Cocco, 1829 (half-naked hatchetfish, short silver hatchetfish, spurred hatchetfish) * '' Argyropelecus lychnus''

, 1899 (tropical hatchetfish) * '' Argyropelecus olfersii'' ( G. Cuvier, 1829) * '' Argyropelecus sladeni'' Regan, 1908 (Sladen's hatchetfish, silvery hatchetfish) Argyropelecus prisca 34maf olig romania

The earliest unequivocal fossils of ''Argyropelecus'' date from the start of the

Chattian The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale, the younger of two ages or upper of two stages of the Oligocene Epoch/Series. It spans the time between . The Chattian is preceded by the Rupelian and is followed by the Aquitanian (the lowest stage ...

stage of the Late

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

Carnevale, Giorgio. "Redescription and phylogenetic relationships of Argyropelecus logearti (Teleostei: Stomiiformes: Sternoptychidae), with a brief review of fossil Argyropelecus." Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia (Research In Paleontology and Stratigraphy) 109.1 (2003). The original assessment of Eocene-aged otoliths from Austria assigned to this genus is now questioned.

References

External links

Information about Argyropelecus aculeatus
Sternoptychidae Extant Chattian first appearances Marine fish genera Ray-finned fish genera Taxa named by Anastasio Cocco {{Stomiiformes-stub