The Neoscopelidae (blackchins or neoscopelids) are a small family of deep-sea fish closely related to the

lanternfish Lanternfish (or myctophids, from the Greek language, Greek μυκτήρ ''myktḗr'', "nose" and ''ophis'', "serpent") are small mesopelagic fish of the large family (biology), family Myctophidae. One of two families in the order Myctophiformes, ...

. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine waters worldwide. They can be distinguished from the lanternfish only by a few technical characters, such as the position of the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

being far behind that of the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

. Some species also lack the light-emitting organs (

photophore A photophore is a specialized anatomical structure found in a variety of organisms that emits light through the process of boluminescence. This light may be produced endogenously by the organism itself (symbiotic) or generated through a mut ...

s) of the lanternfish. They are typically between in length. One genus has photophores arranged in a single series along the edge of the tongue and one or two along the ventral surface of the body. Neoscopelidae currently contains three genera, ''Neoscopelus'', ''Scopelengys'' and the monotypic ''Solivomer'' (Philippines).

Species

The six known species of neoscopelids are grouped into three genera: *'' Neoscopelus'' *'' Scopelengys'' *'' Solivomer'' The following fossil genera are also known: * †'' Beckerophotus'' * †?'' Neocassandra'' (potentially in its own family) * †?'' Sardinioides'' (generally placed in own family but may be a neoscopelid)

References

Myctophiformes Deep sea fish Euteleostei families {{Myctophiformes-stub