Argyropelecus hemigymnus, deep sea hatchetfish

Argyropelecus hemigymnus Cocca 1829

    Pliocene

    Vrica,Crotone

    Calabria

    Italy

    Argyropelecus (Hatchetfish) is a ray-finned fish genus which belongs in the family Sternoptychidae. A hatchetfish is of so bizarre an appearance that once seen it could be hardly be mistaken for any other spicies unless one of its own tribe. They are mostly deep bodied, compressed fishes with rather big, upwardly directed eyes. Hatchetfishes are provided with a complex system of conspiciuous light producing spots (photophores). All members of this genus are oceanic and inhabit the mid-depths.