Diaphus brachycephalus, Short-headed lantern fish

Diaphus brachycephalus Tåning, 1928

Short-headed lantern fish
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Diaphus brachycephalus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Diaphus brachycephalus (Short-headed lantern fish)
Diaphus brachycephalus
Picture by Dubosc, J.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Myctophiformes (Lanternfishes) > Myctophidae (Lanternfishes) > Diaphinae
Etymology: Diaphus: Greek, dis, dia = through + Greek, physa, phyo = to beget, to have as offspring (Ref. 45335).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; bathypelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 200 - 600 m (Ref. 58018). Deep-water; 42°N - 33°S

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Circumglobal: In tropical to subtropical waters. Eastern Atlantic: Morocco to Angola. Western Atlantic: USA to Uruguay. Western Pacific: warmer waters and in Kuroshio (Japan Current). Indian Ocean: Mozambique Channel and Agulhas Current. Elsewhere, in the eastern Pacific. South China Sea (Ref.74511).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 3 - ? cm
Max length : 6.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4479)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12 - 14; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 12 - 14.
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

High-oceanic (Ref. 4479). Mesopelagic (Ref. 58302). Found between 175-550 m during the day and near the surface to about 225 m at night (Ref. 4066, 58302). Large males partially or non-migratory (Ref. 4066). Exhibits dwarfing in minimum region off Brazil with a maximum length of about 3.6 cm SL and sexual maturity from about 2.7 cm SL (Ref. 4479).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Paxton, John | Collaborators

Hulley, P.A., 1990. Myctophidae. p. 398-467. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI; Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 4479)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 10 July 2012

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | National databases | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search |