Neoscopelidae

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Neoscopelidae
Temporal range: Middle Eocene to present
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S
D
C
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Pg
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Possible early Ypresian and Late Cretaceous occurrences
Neoscopelus macrolepidotus.jpg
Large-scaled lanternfish
Neoscopelus macrolepidotus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Myctophiformes
Family: Neoscopelidae
Danilchenko, 1947
Genera

Neoscopelus
Scopelengys
Solivomer

The Neoscopelidae (blackchins or neoscopelids) are a small family of deep-sea fish closely related to the lanternfish. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine waters worldwide. [1]

They can be distinguished from the lanternfish only by a few technical characters, such as the position of the anal fin being far behind that of the dorsal fin. Some species also lack the light-emitting organs (photophores) of the lanternfish. They are typically between 20 and 30 cm (7.9 and 11.8 in) in length. [2] 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). [3]

Species

The six known species of neoscopelids are grouped into three genera: [2]

The following fossil genera are also known:

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<i>Neoscopelus</i> Genus of fishes

Neoscopelus is a genus of blackchins.

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<i>Neoscopelus macrolepidotus</i> Species of fish

Neoscopelus macrolepidotus, also known as a large-scaled lantern fish, is a species of small mesopelagic or bathypelagic fish of the family Neoscopelidae, which contains six species total along three genera. The family Neoscopelidae is one of the two families of the order Myctophiformes. Neoscopelidae can be classified by the presence of an adipose fin. The presence of photophores, or light-producing organs, further classify the species into the genus Neoscopelus. N. macrolepidotus tends to be mesopelagic until the individuals become large adults, which is when they settle down to the bathypelagic zone.

References

  1. Hulley, P. Alexander (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 127–128. ISBN   0-12-547665-5.
  2. 1 2 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Family Neoscopelidae". FishBase . December 2008 version.
  3. Stiassny, Melanie L.J. 1997. Neoscopelidae. Blackchins. Version 01 January 1997 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Neoscopelidae/15173/1997.01.01 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
  4. "A new genus of Neoscopelidae for Eomyctophum gracile Daniltshenko from the Middle Eocene of Georgia (Pisces: Osteichthyes: Myctophiformes)". www.zin.ru. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
  5. 1 2 Prokofiev, A. M. (2006-12-01). "Fossil myctophoid fishes (Myctophiformes: Myctophoidei) from Russia and adjacent regions". Journal of Ichthyology. 46 (1): S38 –S83. doi:10.1134/S0032945206100043. ISSN   1555-6425.