- Giant hatchetfish
Taxobox
name = Giant hatchetfish
image_caption = Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
regnum =Animalia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Actinopterygii
ordo =Stomiiformes
familia =Sternoptychidae
subfamilia =Sternoptychinae
genus = "Argyropelecus "
species = "A. gigas"
binomial = "Argyropelecus gigas"
binomial_authority = Norman, 1930The giant hatchetfish, "Argyropelecus gigas", amarine hatchetfish of the genus "Argyropelecus ", is found in deep tropical and subtropical waters of all oceans, except the northPacific . Its length is between 8 and 12 cm, and it is the largest fish in its family.The giant hatchetfish is a deep-bodied species with large eyes that are directed upwards, enabling prey to be silhouetted against the faint light coming from the surface, and a large mouth also directed upwards. The whole belly is covered in downward directed
photophore s, which are thought to disguise the fish's dark shape from other upward-lookingpredator s.This silvery coloured
plankton -eating fish lives at depths of bebetween 300 and 650 m.References
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* Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, "Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand", (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand1982 ) ISBN 0-00-216987-8
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