Oblique Hatchetfish, Sternoptyx diaphana Hermann 1781
Other Names: Diaphanous Hatchet Fish, Oblique Hatchet-fish, Transparent Hatchetfish, Transparent Hatchet-fish
An Oblique Hatchetfish, Sternoptyx diaphana, from seamounts in the Tasman Sea. Source: NORFANZ Founding Parties. License: All rights reserved
Summary:
Relatively little pigment in trunk region, very little on caudal-fin rays.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2025, Sternoptyx diaphana in Fishes of Australia, accessed 03 Sep 2026, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/4541
Oblique Hatchetfish, Sternoptyx diaphana Hermann 1781
More Info
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Distribution |
Off Exmouth, Western Australia, and the Coral Sea east of Port Douglas, Queensland, to southern Tasmania; also the Norfolk Ridge in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species is circumglobal in tropical to temperate seas. Inhabits mesopelagic and bathypelagic waters to a depth of 1500 m, although commonly between 600-900 m. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin 9-11; Anal fin 14-16; Gill rakers 7 + 8-9; Vertebrae 27-29. SAN photophore low, almost in contact with AN photophores; height of ACA photophore 3–4 times in trunk depth; trunk depth conspicuously greater than trunk length; posterior A supports short, not appreciably longer than AN photophore group. |
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Feeding |
Feeds mostly on planktonic crustaceans such as copepods and amphipods, along with euphausiids and decapods. |
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Etymology |
The specific name is from the Greek diaphanēs (= translucent, transparent), in reference to the transparent fold of skin on the breast. |
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Species Citation |
Sternoptyx diaphana Hermann 1781, Naturforscher 16(2): 33. Type locality: Off Panama, Caribbean Sea, Western Atlantic, 11°6'N, 78°21'W, Neotype [original locality Jamaica]. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2025 |
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Resources |
Oblique Hatchetfish, Sternoptyx diaphana Hermann 1781
References
Badcock, J. & Baird, R.C. 1980. Remarks on the systematics, development, and distribution of the hatchetfish genus Sternoptyx (Pisces, Stomiatoidei). Fishery Bulletin 77(4): 803-820.
Baird, R.C. 1971. The Systematics, Distribution, and Zoogeography of the Marine Hatchetfishes (Family Sternoptychidae). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College 142: 1-128. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/20214
Harold, A. 2015. Sternoptyx diaphana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T18253296A21913860. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T18253296A21913860.en. Accessed on 25 September 2025.
Harold, A.S. & Gomon, M.F. 2008. Various family accounts. pp. 225 in Gomon, M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.
Harold, A.S., Stewart, A.L. & Roberts, C.D. 2015. Family Sternoptychidae. pp. 446-468 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 2 pp. 1-576.
Hermann, J. 1781. Schreiben an den Herausgeber über eine neues amerikanisches Fischgeschlecht, Sternoptyx diaphana, der durchsichtige Brust-Falten-Fisch. Naturforscher 16(2): 8-36, Pl. 1
Hopkins, T.L. & Baird, R.C. 1973. Diet of the Hatchetfish Sternoptyx diaphana. Marine Biology 21(1): 34-46.
Last, P.R., Pogonoski, J.J., Gledhill, D.C. White, W.T. & Walker, C.J. 2014. The deepwater demersal ichthyofauna of the western Coral Sea. Zootaxa 3887(2): 191–224
Weitzman, S.H. 1974. Osteology and evolutionary relationships of the Sternoptychidae with a new classification of stomiatoid families. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 153( 3): 327-478. http://hdl.handle.net/2246/1139
Young, J.W., Lamb, T.D. & Bradford, R.W. 1996. Distribution and community structure of midwater fishes in relation to the subtropical convergence off eastern Tasmania, Australia. Marine Biology 126(4): 571-584. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00351324
