Argyropelecus

Silver hatchetfishes Temporal range: Mid-late Eocene to Present 40–0 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Argyropelecus aculeatus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Stomiiformes
Family:	Sternoptychidae
Subfamily:	Sternoptychinae
Genus:	Argyropelecus Cocco, 1829
Diversity
7 species

Argyropelecus is an oceanic ray-finned fish genus which belongs in the family Sternoptychidae. A collective name is "silver hatchetfishes", but this can also refer to a species of the freshwater hatchetfishes which are not particularly closely related but merely convergent. The large pupils of these marine hatchetfishes enable them to see dim objects in the deep sea, where light barely penetrates.

Species

Seven living species are placed in Argyropelecus:

• Argyropelecus aculeatus – Lovely Hatchetfish, Atlantic Silver Hatchetfish
• Argyropelecus affinis Garman, 1899 – Pacific Hatchetfish
• Argyropelecus gigas – Giant Hatchetfish, Greater Silver Hatchetfish
• Argyropelecus hemigymnus – Half-naked Hatchetfish, Short Silver Hatchetfish, Spurred Hatchetfish
• Argyropelecus lychnus Garman, 1899 – Tropical Hatchetfish
• Argyropelecus olfersi (Cuvier, 1829)
• Argyropelecus sladeni Regan, 1908 – Sladen's Hatchetfish, Silvery Hatchetfish

Fossils of this genus show that they have existed at least since the mid-late Eocene, about 40 million years ago.

References

• FishBase [2009]: Argyropelecus species. Retrieved 2009-OCT-02.
• Sepkoski, Jack (2002): [Argyropelecus]. In: A compendium of fossil marine animal genera. Bulletin of American Paleontology 364: 560. HTML database excerpt

External links

• Information about Argyropelecus aculeatus