Family BATHYLAGIDAE

Museums

Regional Maps

External Links

Introduction

The Bathylagidae comprise eight genera and 24 described species, and nine species in six genera are known from Australian waters. Johnson & Patterson (1996) and Wiley & Johnson (2010) included this group as a subfamily of the Microstomatidae, whereas other authors (Paxton & Cohen 1999; Nelson 2006; Eschmeyer & Fong 2014), treated the group as a distinct family.

Deepsea smelts are meso- to bathypelagic in all oceans. Typically, they have large eyes and are relatively slender-bodied fishes similar to argentinids, differing in the absence of a swimbladder and the presence of only two branchiostegal rays (vs 3–5). The stomach contents of one species included crustaceans. Maximum length is about 25 cm.

Cohen (1964) revised the North Atlantic species of deepsea smelts. Kobyliansky (1985, 1986) treated a number of species and genera, and Kobyliansky (1990) presented a key to species of Bathylagichthys. Gon (1990) treated species found in the Southern Ocean, and Gomon (2008) treated species found off southern Australia. Gorelova & Kobyliansky (1985) studied feeding habits of bathylagids. Relationships of the subfamily are discussed by Ahlstrom et al. (1984).

 

General References

Ahlstrom, E.H., Moser, H.G. & Cohen, D.M. 1984. Argentinoidei: development and relationships. pp. 155-169 figs 82-88 in Moser, H.G. et al. (eds). Ontogeny and Systematics of Fishes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Special Publication 1: 1-760

Cohen, D.M. 1964. Suborder Argentinoidea. In, Olsen, Y.H. (ed.) Fishes of the Western North Atlantic. Memoir. Sears Foundation of Marine Research 1(4): 1-70 figs 1-20

Eschmeyer, W.N. & Fong, J.D. 2014. Species of Fishes by family/subfamily. Catalog of Fishes. Online version updated 19 May 2014. http://research.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/SpeciesByFamily.asp

Gomon, M.F. 2008. Family Microstomatidae. pp. 199-201 in Gomon, M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.

Gon, O. 1990. Bathylagidae. pp. 107-110 in Gon, O. & Heemstra, P.C. (eds). Fishes of the Southern Ocean. Grahamstown : J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology 462 pp.

Gon, O. & Stewart, A.L. 2014. A new species of the genus Bathylagichthys (Pisces, Bathylagidae) from New Zealand. Zootaxa 3884(4): 371-378 [377]

Gorelova, T.A. & Kobyliansky, S.G. 1985. Feeding of deepsea fishes of the Family Bathylagidae. Journal of Ichthyology 25(3): 89-100

Johnson, G.D. & Patterson, C. 1996. Relationships of lower euteleostean fishes. pp. 251-332 in Stiassny, M.L.J., Parenti, L.R. & Johnson, G.D. (eds). Interrelationships of Fishes. San Diego : Academic Press 496 pp.

Kobyliansky, S.G. 1985. Material for the revision of the genus Bathylagus Günther (Bathylagidae): the group of "light" deepsea smelts. Voprosy Ikhtiologii 25(1): 51-67 [in Russian; English translation in J. Ichthyol. 25(2): 1–17]

Kobyliansky, S.G. 1986. Materials for a revision of the family Bathylagidae (Teleostei, Salmoniformes). Transactions. P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology 121: 6-50 [in Russian]

Kobyliansky, S.H. 1990. Taxonomic status of microstomatid fishes and problems of classification of suborder Argentinoidei (Salmoniformes, Teleostei). Trudy Instituta Okeanologii. Akademiya Nauk SSSR. Moskva 125: 148-177

Nelson, J.S. 2006. Fishes of the World. Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 601 pp.

Paxton, J.R. & Cohen, D.M. 1999. Argentinidae. p. 1884 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 3 pp. 1397-2068.

Wiley, E.O. & Johnson, G.D. 2010. A teleost classification based on monophyletic groups. pp. 123-182 in Nelson, J.S., Schultze, H.-P. & Wilson, M.V.H. Origin and Phylogenetic Interrelationships of Teleosts. München, Germany : Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil 480 pp.

 

Common Name References

Paxton, J.R. & Cohen, D.M. 1999. Families Argentinidae, Microstomatidae, Bathylagidae, Opisthoproctidae. pp. 1884-1887 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 3 pp. 1397-2068. [1886] (Deepsea Smelts)

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
06-Jun-2016	PROTACANTHOPTERYGII	26-May-2016	MODIFIED	Dr Doug Hoese Dr Matthew Lockett
	ARGENTINIFORMES	26-Apr-2015	ADDED	Dr Dianne Bray (NMV) Dr Doug Hoese (AM) Dr Matthew Lockett (AM)