Smalltooth Dragonfish, Pachystomias microdon (Günther 1878)
Other Names: Small-toothed Dragonfish
An illustration of a Smalltooth Dragonfish, Pachystomias microdon. Source: After Morrow & Gibbs, in Bigelow et al. 1964. License: All rights reserved
Summary:
A velvety black dragonfish with a large curved reddish photophore under of the eye, a slender chin barbel, and the floor of the mouth present with the mandibles connected by a membrane.
The Smalltooth Dragonfish, along with species in the genera Malacosteus and Aristostomias, produce long-wavelength bioluminescence, a feature unique amongst vertebrates. It is assumed that they shine this red light on prey that are unable to see long-wave spectra. Unlike all other deep-sea fishes, they have retinal pigments tuned to their own red light - like having "night-vision".
The Smalltooth Dragonfish, along with species in the genera Malacosteus and Aristostomias, produce long-wavelength bioluminescence, a feature unique amongst vertebrates. It is assumed that they shine this red light on prey that are unable to see long-wave spectra. Unlike all other deep-sea fishes, they have retinal pigments tuned to their own red light - like having "night-vision".
Cite this page as:
Dianne J. Bray, Pachystomias microdon in Fishes of Australia, accessed 23 Jan 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/4434
Smalltooth Dragonfish, Pachystomias microdon (Günther 1878)
References
Kenaley, C.P., DeVaney, S.C. & Fjeran, T.T. 2014. The complex evolutionary history of seeing red: molecular phylogeny and the evolution of an adaptive visual system in deep-sea dragonfishes (Stomiiformes: Stomiidae). Evolution 68: 996–1013. doi: 10.1111/evo.12322
Kenaley. C.P. & Gomon, M.F. 2008. Family Stomiidae. In: Gomon, M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). The Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney: New Holland Press.
