Argyropelecus hemigymnus
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Argyropelecus hemigymnus prey on a shrimp. Underwater photo from the Strait of Messina |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Argyropelecus hemigymnus | ||||||||||||
| Cocco , 1829 |
Argyropelecus hemigymnus is a deep-sea fish from the family of deep-sea hatchetfish (Sternoptychidae), which occurs worldwide in almost all tropical and temperate seas, u. a. in the western and central Mediterranean and the north-east Atlantic north of the British Isles.
features
Argyropelecus hemigymnus becomes a maximum of 3.9 cm long and has the deep-bellied, laterally strongly flattened shape typical of deep-sea hatchet fish. Its coloring is light silvery and turns dark at night. The number of vortices is 36 to 39, that of the Branchiostegal rays 10.
- Fin formula : Dorsal 8–9, Anal2 11–12.
Way of life
Argyropelecus hemigymnus usually lives at depths of 250 to 600 meters, but has also been caught at depths of up to 2,400 meters. Adult animals perform vertical migrations. They live individually or in small groups and feed on copepods , other crustaceans, small fish and other small prey animals. The eggs and larvae of the fish are planktonic .
Web links
- Argyropelecus hemigymnus on Fishbase.org (English)
- Argyropelecus hemigymnus inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Harold, AS, 2009. Retrieved February 3, 2014.