Order MYCTOPHIFORMES

Common name: Lanternfishes
Summary:

This order includes two families of deepsea pelagic and benthopelagic fishes which share a combination of osteological and musculature characteristics; most have intrinsic bioluminescence. Myctophiforms comprise more than half of all deep-sea biomass, and are a critical component of marine ecosystems worldwide.

Author: Dianne J. Bray
Cite this page as:
Dianne J. Bray, Lanternfishes, MYCTOPHIFORMES in Fishes of Australia, accessed 18 Jan 2022, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/order/27

Order References

Busserolles F, Fitzpatrick JL, Paxton JR, Marshall NJ, Collin SP (2013) Eye-size variability in deep-sea lanternfishes. Mar Biol (2014) 161:1139–1148 (Myctophidae): an ecological and phylogenetic study. PLoS ONE 8:e58519

Davis, M.P., Holcroft, N.I., Wiley, E.O., Sparks, J.S. & Smith, W.L. (2014). Species-Specific Bioluminescence Facilitates Speciation in the Deep Sea. Marine Biology. DOI: 10.1007/s00227-014-2406-x.

Denton, J.S.S. 2012. Seven-locus molecular phylogeny of Myctophiformes (Teleostei; Scopelomorpha) highlights the utility of the order for studies of deep-sea evolution. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 76: 270–292.

Gjøsaeter, J., Kawaguchi, K., 1980. A Review of the World Resources of Mesopelagic Fish. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 193, 151 pp

Okiyama, M. 1984. Myctophiformes: Relationships, pp. 254-259, In H.G. Moser, W.J. Richards, D.M. Cohen, M.P. Fahay, A.W. Kendall, Jr. & S.L. Richardson (eds) Ontogeny and Systematics of Fishes. Spec. Publ. No. 1. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Lawrence, Kansas.

Paxton JR (1972) Osteology and relationships of the lanternfishes (family Myctophidae). Bull Nat Hist Mus LA 13: 1–78.

Stiassny, M.L.J. 1996. Basal ctenosquamate relationships and the interrelationships of the myctophiform (Scopelomorph) fishes, pp. 405-426, In Stiassny, M.L.J., Parenti, L.R. & G.D. Johnson (eds). Interrelationships of Fishes. San Diego : Academic Press, 496 pp.