Lanternfish

Lanternfish are small marine fishes in the family Myctophidae, named for light-producing organs called photophores arranged along their bodies. They are abundant in the deep ocean and undertake daily vertical migrations.

Photophore: A light-producing organ found in certain animals, including lanternfish. Lanternfish use rows of photophores to produce patterned light.
Marine snow: A shower of organic particles that sinks through the water column from ocean surface waters. Lanternfish feed within the deep-ocean ecosystem sustained partly by sinking organic matter.
Benthosema glaciale: A lanternfish species found in the North Atlantic and adjacent waters. It is a well-studied North Atlantic example of the family.
Myctophiformes: An order of ray-finned fishes that includes lanternfishes and their close relatives. Lanternfish belong to this broader taxonomic group.
Bioluminescence: The production and emission of light by living organisms through chemical reactions. Lanternfish photophores produce light through bioluminescent chemistry.
Biological carbon pump: The ocean processes that transfer carbon from surface waters into the deep ocean. Their migrations and waste transport carbon downward from feeding grounds near the surface.
Lampanyctus crocodilus: A large lanternfish species found in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. Its relatively large size distinguishes it from many smaller lanternfish.
Neoscopelidae: A small family of deep-sea fishes closely related to lanternfishes. It is the closest family-level comparison within Myctophiformes.
Counterillumination: Camouflage in which an animal emits light from its underside to match downwelling light. Many lanternfish use ventral light to soften their silhouette against the surface above.
Mesopelagic fish: Fishes that live mainly in the ocean’s mesopelagic, or twilight, zone. Lanternfish are among the most abundant and diverse mesopelagic fishes.

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