Scopelopsis

Scopelopsis multipunctatus, the multispotted lanternfish, is a species of lanternfish. This species grows to a length of 9.5 cm (3.7 in).[1]

Scopelopsis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Myctophiformes
Family: Myctophidae
Genus: Scopelopsis
A. B. Brauer, 1906
Species:
S. multipunctatus
Binomial name
Scopelopsis multipunctatus
A. B. Brauer, 1906 Brauer. "scopelopsis multipunctatus". fishbase.

Description

Scopelopsis multipunctatus has round eyes, a long and slender body, and a forked homocercal caudal fin.[2]

Larvae

Scopelopsis multipunctatus' larvae are slender and range in size anywhere from 5-18 mm (0.2-0.7 in), with its head spanning about a quarter of the body length.[2] Their eyes are large at younger stages and decrease in size relative to their head over time.[2]

They develop a pattern of melanophores along the ventral side of the body, as well as the head, dorsal fin, and caudal fin, as they mature.[2] Photophores also develop along the ventral half of the body during the larval stages of the multispotted lanternfish.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Scopelopsis multipunctatus follow a subtropical zoogeographic pattern.[3] Its distribution is restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, ranging from 15-25° S in the Pacific Ocean and 23-29° S in the Indian Ocean.[4][5]

They can be found in both warm and cold waters of the ocean.[1]

Diet

The diet of Scopelopsis multipunctatus consists of copepods; amphipods and euphausiids; larval molluscs, ostracods, polychaetes, and siphonophores; and salps.[1]

References

  1. Brandt, Stephen B. (1981). "Effects of a Warm-Core Eddy on Fish Distributions in the Tasman Sea Off East Australia". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 6: 19–33. Bibcode:1981MEPS....6...19B. doi:10.3354/meps006019 via ResearchGate.
  2. Moser, H. Geoffrey (1972). "DEVELOPMENT OF THE LANTERNFISH, SCOPELOPSIS MULTIPUNCTATUS BRAUER 1906, WITH A DISCUSSION OF ITS PHYLOGENETIC POSITION IN THE FAMILY MYCTOPHIDAE AND ITS ROLE IN A PROPOSED MECHANISM FOR THE EVOLUTION OF PHOTOPHORE PATTERNS IN LANTERNFISHES" (PDF). Fishery Bulletin. 70: 541–564 via NOAA.
  3. Rubiés, Pere (1985). "Zoogeography of the Lanternfishes (Osteichthyes, Myctophidae) of Southwest Africa" (PDF). Instituto de Investigaciones Pesqueras. 1: 573–586 via CSIC Research.
  4. Wisner, Robert L. (1976). The taxonomy and distribution of lantern fishes (family Myctophidae) of the eastern Pacific Ocean. Bay St. Louis, Mississippi: Navy Ocean Research and Development Activity. pp. 1–299.
  5. Nafpaktitis, B. G. (1969). Lantern fishes (Family Myctophidae) collected during cruises 3 and 6 of the R/V Anton Bruun in the Indian Ocean. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. pp. 1–79.


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