The Gonostomatidae are a family of mesopelagic marine fish, commonly named bristlemouths, lightfishes, or anglemouths. It is a relatively small family, containing only eight known genera and 32 species. However, bristlemouths make up for their lack of diversity with relative abundance, numbering in the hundreds of trillions to quadrillions.[1] The genus Cyclothone (with 13 species) is thought to be one of the most abundant vertebrate genera in the world.
The fossil record of this family dates back to the Miocene epoch. Living bristlemouths were discovered by William Beebe in the early 1930s and described by L. S. Berg in 1958. The fish are mostly found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, although the species Cyclothone microdon may be found in Arctic waters. They have elongated bodies from 2 to 30 cm (0.79 to 11.81 in) in length.[2] They have a number of green or red light-producing photophores aligned along the undersides of their heads or bodies.[1] Their chief common name, bristlemouth, comes from their odd, equally sized, and bristle-like teeth. They are typically black in color which provides camouflage from predators in deep, dark waters. They mainly feed on zooplankton and small crustaceans due to their small size.[3]
^ abBroad, William J. (June 29, 2015). "An Ocean Mystery in the Trillions". The New York Times. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
^Fink, William L. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 121. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
^Lancraft, Thomas (November 10, 1988). "Aspects of the ecology of the mesopelagic fish Gonostoma elongatum(Gonostomatidae, Stomiiformes) in the eastern Gulf of Mexico" (PDF). Department of Marine Ecology, University of South Florida. 49: 27–40.
The Gonostomatidae are a family of mesopelagic marine fish, commonly named bristlemouths, lightfishes, or anglemouths. It is a relatively small family...
diverse morphology. It includes, for example, dragonfishes, lightfishes (Gonostomatidae and Phosichthyidae), loosejaws, marine hatchetfishes and viperfishes...
aspects of the biology of Cyclothone braueri and C. microdon (Pisces: Gonostomatidae) in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean". Marine Biology. 102 (3): 413–424...
name, but that usually refers to the genus Argyripnus or the family Gonostomatidae. Fossils of pearlsides are known from the Miocene. There are currently...
of further study. The ancestral Stomiiformes probably resembled the Gonostomatidae, with thin brownish bodies, rows of egg-shaped photophores adorning...
bioluminescent fishes: Family Phosichthyidae. Bristlemouths in the family Gonostomatidae. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Lightfish...
fishes, but that may also refer to the related bristlemouth family (Gonostomatidae). A. iridescens is called "pearlside", which usually refers to the closely...
Gregorová; Antony S. Harold (2017). "†Gonostoma dracula sp. nov. (Teleostei, Gonostomatidae) from the Oligocene deposits of the Central Paratethys (Romania): earliest...
genera. They have prominent photophores along their ventral side. The Gonostomatidae, or bristlemouth, are also common mesopelagic fish. The bristlemouth...
deepsea fangjaw or deepsea lightfish, is a species of fish in the family Gonostomatidae (anglemouths). Sigmops bathyphilus is black in colour, with a maximum...
This is a list of fish found in and around Great Britain, in both fresh water (lakes, rivers, streams and man-made pools) and salt water. This list includes...
meaning double and phos meaning light) is a species of fish in the family Gonostomatidae. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Diplophos orientalis Matsubara...
Diplophos australis is a species of stomiiformes in the family Gonostomatidae. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Diplophos australis Ozawa, Oda...
obtusirostra, the Bighead portholefish, is a bristlemouth of the family Gonostomatidae, found in the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific and Atlantic oceans...
published 21 papers, as well as contributing a section on the family Gonostomatidae to Fishes of the Western North Atlantic, published in 1964. She died...
This is a list of the fish species found in India and is based on FishBase. Albula vulpes translated "Thapi_Lesapo" by Mr Jasson Kemiso Mudongo, a young...
veiled anglemouth, Cyclothone microdon, is a bristlemouth of the family Gonostomatidae, abundant in all the world's oceans at depths of 300 – 2,500 meters...
Diplophos taenia is a species of fish in the family Gonostomatidae. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Diplophos taenia Günther, 1873". www.marinespecies...
Diplophos pacificus is a species of fish in the family Gonostomatidae. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Diplophos pacificus Günther, 1889"....
Diplophos rebainsi, Rebains' portholefish, is a bristlemouth of the family Gonostomatidae, found in the south-east and west Pacific, and the South Atlantic oceans...
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