Tinselfish

Tinselfishes
Thorny tinselfish, Grammicolepis brachiusculus, filmed by the NOAA Ocean Explorer at Northampton Seamounts, 40 miles (65 km) southwest of Laysan, Hawaii.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Zeiformes
Family:	Grammicolepididae Poey, 1873
Sub-families & Genera
Sub-family Grammicolepidinae Grammicolepis Xenolepidichthys Sub-family Macrurocyttinae Macrurocyttus

The Grammicolepididae are a small family of deep-sea fishes, called tinselfishes due to their silvery color.

They are related to the dories, and have similar deeply compressed bodies. The largest species, the thorny tinselfish, Grammicolepis brachiusculus, grows up to 64 cm (25 in) long.

They are found in isolated areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, where they inhabit deep waters: they have been found down to about 1,000 m (3,300 ft). They are rarely caught in trawls. Five have been caught south of the Bay of Biscay. One was caught off Scotland in 2004, and one off Co. Kerry, Ireland in December 2010 by Rossaveal trawler "Maria Magdelena III"

References

• "Thorny Tinselfish". Australian Museum Fish Site. Retrieved 30 March 2006.
• {Irish Times 23 December 2010}