Lanternfish

Lanternfish are small mesopelagic fish of the family Myctophidae. They are one of two families in the order Myctophiformes. They have 246 species in 33 genera, and are found in oceans worldwide.

 Description 
These fish have slender bodies and big elliptical to round lateral eyes (dorsolateral in Protomyctophum species). They also have a large mouth with jaws closely set with rows of small teeth.

 Why they're called lanternfish 
Lanternfish are called "lanternfish" because of their photophores and their ability to produce bioluminescence.

 Genera 
The 33 genera are:

 Benthosema
 Bolinichthys
 Centrobranchus
 Ceratoscopelus
 Diaphus
 Diogenichthys
 Electrona
 Gonichthys
 Gymnoscopelus
 Hintonia
 Hygophum
 Idiolychnus
 Krefftichthys
 Lampadena
 Lampanyctodes
 Lampanyctus
 Lampichthys
 Lepidophanes
 Lobianchia
 Loweina
 Metelectrona
 Myctophum
 Nannobrachium
 Notolychnus
 Notoscopelus
 Parvilux
 Protomyctophum
 Scopelopsis
 Stenobrachius
 Symbolophorus
 Taaningichthys
 Tarletonbeania
 Triphoturus

 References 

 Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2004). "Myctophidae" in FishBase. December 2004 version.

Category:Ray-finned fish
Category:Bioluminescent animals