Family Myctophidae

Lanternfishes

Selected Characters: Snout blunt; mouth large, with small teeth; eyes large; round photophores in groups and rows on head and body; scales large, easily lost.

This is a large family of deepsea fishes found in all oceans of the world. They typically live at moderate to deep depths, but often undergo vertical diurnal migrations of up to several hundred meters and can be found near the surface at night. All members of the family have photophores on the head and body. Most myctophids are less than 10 cm long, but some reach about 30 cm. Some species are very abundant and are important food sources for a variety of marine fishes and mammals. There are about 235 species in this family, with three found in Puget Sound. This family is not common in Puget Sound.

Puget Sound Species

Tarletonbeania crenularis Blue Lanternfish

Stenobrachius leucopsarus Northern Lanternfish

Diaphus theta California Headlightfish