Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Myctophiformes (Lanternfishes) >
Myctophidae (Lanternfishes) > Myctophinae
Etymology: Benthosema: Greek, benthos = depth of the sea + Greek, sema, sematos = signal, flag (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; bathypelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 2000 m (Ref. 26165). Deep-water, preferred ?; 33°N - 42°S, 19°E - 139°W
Indian Ocean: 18°N-20°S, to 42°S in the Agulhas Current. Pacific Ocean: 21°N-10°S.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 4 - ? cm
Max length : 10.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9835)
Dorsal
spines
(total): 0;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 12-14;
Anal
spines: 0;
Anal
soft rays: 18 - 20;
Vertebrae: 31 - 32. Anal organs 10-11; mature males have large 3 to 5 translucent supracaudal gland and smaller infracaudal gland; mature females have small supracaudal gland and much smaller infracaudal patches (Ref. 39633).
Benthopelagic and mesopelagic in slope and oceanic waters, but usually not high-oceanic. Occurs in the upper 200 m at night (Ref. 4066). Epipelagic in nearshore areas at 0-856 m (Ref. 58302). Occasionally seen during dark nights on slopes that are near very deep water. Attracted by light like moths, becoming disoriented and darting frantically in all directions (Ref. 48635).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Paxton, J.R. and P.A. Hulley, 1999. Myctophidae. Lanternfishes. p. 1957-1964. In K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the WCP. Vol. 3. Batoid fishes, chimaeras and bony fishes part 1 (Elopidae to Linophrynidae). FAO, Rome. (Ref. 9835)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of potential interest
More information
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
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Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5312 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.33 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=5.62; tmax=1).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100) .
