''Myctophum affine'', the metallic lanternfish, is a species of

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, ...

native to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. ''Myctophum affine'' grows to a length of SL.

Description

Phenotypic observations of ''Myctophum affine'' presume that males carry dorsal luminous scales, while females of the species have luminous ventral scales. It is stated that males typically possess seven or eight luminous dorsal scales, while females usually have three to four luminous ventral scales. The luminous scales of male ''Myctophum affine'' begin to develop at smaller sizes than those of the female ( Gibbs, 1957).

References

* * Gibbs, R. H. (1957). A taxonomic analysis of Myctophum affine and M. nitidulum, two lantern-fishes previously synonymized, in the western North Atlantic. ''Deep Sea Research (1953)'', ''4''(1), 230–237. Science Direct. https://doi.org/10.1016/0146-6313(56)90055-7 *Hulley, P.A., 1990. Myctophidae. p. 398-467. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI; Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. Myctophidae Taxa named by Christian Frederik Lütken Fish described in 1892 {{Myctophiformes-stub