Lobianchia dofleini (Zugmayer, 1911)
Dofleini's lantern fish
photo by Costa, F.

Family:  Myctophidae (Lanternfishes), subfamily: Diaphinae
Max. size:  6 cm TL (male/unsexed); max.weight: 2.2 g
Environment:  bathypelagic; marine; depth range 0 - 4000 m, oceanodromous
Distribution:  Atlantic Ocean: between 50°N and 40°S including the Mediterranean but with a distributional gap between 8°S and 13°S in the eastern Atlantic, absent in the South Sargasso Sea and minimum region off Brazil. Southern circumglobal (Ref. 7300). Western Atlantic between Santa Catarina and the Subtropical Convergence (Ref. 47377).
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15-14; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 13-15
Biology:  High-oceanic, found between 300-750 m during the day and between 20-400 m at night (Ref. 4066). Size stratification observed with depth (Ref. 4479). Feeds nocturnally or during vertical migration, mainly on copepods and ostracods (Ref. 4775).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 21 May 2013 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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