Codlets are a family, Bregmacerotidae, of cod-like fishes, containing the single genus ''Bregmaceros'' found in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and subtropical waters throughout the world. They are very small fishes and even the largest, ''B. lanceolatus'', reaches only in length.

Etymology

Their scientific name is from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''bregma'' meaning the top of the head, and ''keras'' meaning "horn"; this refers to their occipital ray (a spine emerging from the top of the head).

Fossil record

Fossils of ''Bregmaceros'' are found from the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

to the Quaternary (age range: from 37.2 to 0.0 million years ago.). They are known from various localities in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, North America and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

Species

Currently, 14 species in this genus are recognized: * '' Bregmaceros arabicus'' D'Ancona & Cavinato, 1965 * '' Bregmaceros atlanticus''

Goode Goode ( or , depending on family) is a surname. Notable people Notable people with the surname include: * Alex Goode (Born 1988), British rugby union player * Alexander D. Goode (1911-1943), US Army chaplain * Andy Goode (born 1980), British ru ...

Bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes t ...

, 1886 (antenna codlet) * '' Bregmaceros bathymaster'' D. S. Jordan & Bollman, 1890 (codlet) * '' Bregmaceros cantori'' Milliken & Houde, 1984 (striped codlet) * '' Bregmaceros cayorum'' Nichols, 1952 * '' Bregmaceros houdei'' Saksena & Richards, 1986 (stellate codlet) * '' Bregmaceros japonicus'' S. Tanaka (I), 1908 (Japanese codlet) * '' Bregmaceros lanceolatus'' S. C. Shen, 1960 * ''

Bregmaceros mcclellandi The spotted codlet, MacClelland's unicorn-cod, or unicorn cod, ''Bregmaceros mcclellandi'', is a small, deepwater codlet fish found in the western Indian Ocean to eastern Thailand. It occurs from the surface to depths of , and it reaches up to i ...

'' W. Thompson, 1840 (spotted codlet, Macclelland's unicorn-cod, unicorn cod) * ''

Bregmaceros nectabanus Codlets are a family, Bregmacerotidae, of cod-like fishes, containing the single genus ''Bregmaceros'' found in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. They are very small fishes and even the largest, ''B. lanceolatus'', reaches onl ...

'' Whitley, 1941 (smallscale codlet) * ''

Bregmaceros neonectabanus Codlets are a family, Bregmacerotidae, of cod-like fishes, containing the single genus ''Bregmaceros'' found in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. They are very small fishes and even the largest, ''B. lanceolatus'', reaches onl ...

'' S. Masuda, Ozawa & Tabeta, 1986 * ''

Bregmaceros pescadorus Codlets are a family, Bregmacerotidae, of cod-like fishes, containing the single genus ''Bregmaceros'' found in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. They are very small fishes and even the largest, ''B. lanceolatus'', reaches onl ...

'' S. C. Shen, 1960 * ''

Bregmaceros pseudolanceolatus Codlets are a family, Bregmacerotidae, of cod-like fishes, containing the single genus ''Bregmaceros'' found in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. They are very small fishes and even the largest, ''B. lanceolatus'', reaches onl ...

Torii A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred. The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simples ...

, Javonillo & Ozawa, 2004 (false lance codlet) * ''

Bregmaceros rarisquamosus Codlets are a family, Bregmacerotidae, of cod-like fishes, containing the single genus ''Bregmaceros'' found in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. They are very small fishes and even the largest, ''B. lanceolatus'', reaches on ...

Munro A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevis ...

, 1950 (big-eye unicorn-cod)

References

* Bregmacerotidae {{Gadiformes-stub