Gonostomatidae

Gonostoma elongatum

The bristle mouths ( Gonostomatidae ) are inhabitants of the deep sea. The family consists of 23 species in five genera. They live in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean, Cyclothone also in the Southern Ocean. In addition to the luminous fish genus Vinciguerria Cyclothone is regarded as one of the two individual- richest vertebrate genera of the world.

Features

Many bristle mouths have a bizarre appearance, light organs, which emit green or red light, at the bottom of the body and fangs in large, deeply divided mouths. They have elongated but never strongly flattened body. Its length is rather small with 2.9 to 20 centimeters. The number of vertebrae is 29 to 40 An adipose fin may be present or absent. The anal fin is elongated and is supported 16 to 31 fin rays. The number of Branchiostegalstrahlen is 12 to 16

The Cyclothonen only have small teeth and grab plankton crustaceans (eg copepods ) or strain on it (with the appropriate density) of the water. Often the black animals do not have scales.

Fossils of fish from the family Gonostomatidae were found in layers of the Miocene.

System

Cyclothone microdon

Gonostoma denudatum

Margrethia obtusirostra

Sigmops bathyphilus

Sigmops gracilis

In addition to the species listed here, the three genera of closely related family Diplophidae are traditionally counted among the bristle mouths, as well as on FishBase.

• Bonapartia Bonapartia pedaliota Goode & Bean, 1896.

• Cyclothone acclinidens Garman, 1899.
• Cyclothone alba Brauer, 1906.
• Cyclothone atraria Gilbert, 1905.
• Cyclothone braueri Jespersen & Tåning, 1926.
• Cyclothone kobayashii Miya, 1994.
• Cyclothone livida Brauer, 1902.
• Cyclothone microdon Günther, 1878.
• Cyclothone obscura Brauer, 1902.
• Cyclothone pallida Brauer, 1902.
• Cyclothone parapallida Badcock, 1982.
• Cyclothone pseudopallida Mukhacheva, 1964.
• Cyclothone pygmaea Jespersen & Tåning, 1926.
• Cyclothone signata Garman, 1899.

• Gonostoma atlanticum Norman, 1930.
• Gonostoma denudatum Rafinesque, 1810.
• Gonostoma elongatum Günther, 1878.

• Margrethia obtusirostra Jespersen & Tåning, 1919.
• Margrethia valentinae Parin, 1982.

• Sigmops bathyphilus ( Vaillant, 1884).
• Sigmops ebelingi Grey, 1960.
• Sigmops gracilis Günther, 1878.
• Sigmops longipinnis ( Mukhacheva, 1972).