Marine hatchetfish

Marine hatchetfishes are small mesopelagic fishes in the family Sternoptychidae, recognized by deep, laterally compressed bodies and, in many species, light-producing photophores.

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Bioluminescence: Light produced by living organisms through chemical reactions or symbiosis with luminous microbes. Many hatchetfishes produce light from photophores along their bodies.
Sternoptychidae: A family of mesopelagic fishes that includes marine hatchetfishes and related deep-bodied forms. It is the taxonomic family to which marine hatchetfishes belong.
Marine snow: Falling particles of organic matter that carry carbon and nutrients from surface waters into the deep ocean. Hatchetfishes feed within food webs supported partly by this sinking material.
Silver hatchetfish: A common name for several silvery deep-bodied fishes, including species in the family Sternoptychidae. The name is often used for marine hatchetfishes, but can also describe unrelated fishes.
Photophore: A specialized light-producing organ found in luminous animals, especially marine organisms. Hatchetfish photophores emit light used in counterillumination and possibly communication.
Osteichthyes: The diverse vertebrate group comprising bony fishes, whose skeletons are made primarily of bone. Sternoptychidae is part of the bony-fish lineage.
Diel vertical migration: The daily movement of aquatic organisms toward the surface at night and into deeper water by day. Their movements contribute to the transport of carbon between ocean layers.
Freshwater hatchetfish: A small surface-dwelling South American fish in the family Gasteropelecidae, named for its hatchet-shaped body. It shares the common name and body outline but is unrelated and does not inhabit the deep sea.
Counterillumination: Camouflage in which an animal produces light on its underside to match downwelling light and reduce its silhouette. Ventral photophores can conceal hatchetfishes from predators below.
Mesopelagic fish: A fish that lives mainly in the ocean's dim middle depths, generally between 200 and 1,000 meters. Marine hatchetfishes are one distinctive group within this ecological category.