Gonostomatidae

Taxobox
name = Bristlemouths

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image_width = 250px
image_caption = Elongated bristlemouth, "Gonostoma elongatum" (top) and "Bonapartia pedaliota" (bottom)
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Stomiiformes
familia = Gonostomatidae
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = "Bonapartia" "Cyclothone" "Diplophos" "Gonostoma" "Manducus" "Margrethia" "Sigmops" "Triplophos" See text for species.

Gonostomatidae is a family of deep-water 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 numbers: "Cyclothone", with 12 species, is thought to be (along with "Vinciguerria"), the most abundant vertebrate genus in the world.

The first fossil record of this family dates to the Miocene epoch - and was discovered by L. S. Berg in 1958. The fish may be found in the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, though species "Cyclothone microdon" may be found in Arctic waters. They look oddly long in appearance and have photophores. These photophores are aligned along the bottom of the fish — or bottom of the head — emitting green or red light. Their chief common name — bristlemouth — is after their odd equally-sized bristle teeth. Due to the depth — very little light penetrates, resulting in almost pitch blackness — the fish is typically black to hide from prey.

pecies

Some classifications include the genera "Pollichthys" and "Vinciguerria", but this article follows FishBase in placing them in the family Phosichthyidae.

Some classifications include species in the genus "Zaphotias", but these are junior synonyms of the species "Bonapartia pedaliota".

* Genus "Bonapartia"
** "Bonapartia pedaliota" Goode & Bean, 1896.
* Genus "Cyclothone"
** Benttooth bristlemouth, "Cyclothone acclinidens" Garman, 1899.
** "Cyclothone alba" Brauer, 1906.
** Deep-water bristlemouth, "Cyclothone atraria" Gilbert, 1905.
** Garrick, "Cyclothone braueri" Jespersen & Tåning, 1926.
** "Cyclothone kobayashii" Miya, 1994.
** "Cyclothone livida" Brauer, 1902.
** Veiled anglemouth, "Cyclothone microdon" (Günther, 1878).
** "Cyclothone obscura" Brauer, 1902.
** Yellow bristlemouth, "Cyclothone pacifica" Mukhacheva, 1964.
** Tan bristlemouth, "Cyclothone pallida" Brauer, 1902.
** "Cyclothone parapallida" Badcock, 1982.
** Slender bristlemouth, "Cyclothone pseudopallida" Mukhacheva, 1964.
** "Cyclothone pygmaea" Jespersen & Tåning, 1926.
** Showy bristlemouth, "Cyclothone signata" Garman, 1899.
* Genus "Diplophos"
** "Diplophos australis" Ozawa, Oda & Ida, 1990.
** "Diplophos orientalis" Matsubara, 1940.
** "Diplophos pacificus" (Mukhacheva, 1964).
** "Diplophos rebainsi" Krefft & Parin, 1972.
** Pacific portholefish, "Diplophos taenia" Günther, 1873.
* Genus "Gonostoma"
** Atlantic fangjaw, "Gonostoma atlanticum" Norman, 1930.
** "Gonostoma bathyphilum" (Vaillant, 1884).
** "Gonostoma denudatum" Rafinesque, 1810.
** Elongated bristlemouth, "Gonostoma elongatum" Günther, 1878.
** "Gonostoma longipinnis" Mukhacheva, 1972.
* Genus "Margrethia"
** "Margrethia obtusirostra" Jespersen & Tåning, 1919.
** "Margrethia valentinae" Parin, 1982.
* Genus "Manducus"
** "Manducus greyae" (Johnson, 1970).
** "Manducus maderensis" (Johnson, 1890).
* Genus "Sigmops"
** Ebeling's fangjaw, "Sigmops ebelingi" (Grey, 1960).
** Slender fangjaw, "Sigmops gracilis" (Günther, 1878).
* Genus "Triplophos"
** "Triplophos hemingi" (McArdle, 1901).

References

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