Common Name
Garman's Lanternfish
Year Described
Gilbert, 1906
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 14-16
Anal Fin: 15-17
Pelvic Fin: 8
Pectoral Fin: 11-12
Gill Rakers: 20-23
Lateral Line: 38-39
Body Photophores
PVO: 2 (first at base of pectoral fin; two PVO in straight line with first PO)
PO: 5 (first well separated from rest; fourth almost directly above third)
VO: 5 (first, fourth, and fifth in straight line along belly; second and third in ascending line from first)
SAO: 3 (first two in slightly bent line with fifth VO; third well above second on lateral line)
AOa: 6-8 (first directly above second, rest in straight line except for the last AOa is elevated)
AOp: 4-7 (almost a straight line, first behind last ray of anal fin)
Prc: 4 (curving line with the fourth separated by a larger gap and situated close to lateral line)
PLO: 1 (about three times its diameter below lateral line, directly above second PVO)
VLO: 1 (halfway between pelvic fin base and lateral line)
Pol: 1 (on or right under lateral line; halfway between last AOa and first AOp)
A luminous scale adjacent to PLO is 3 times its size.
Head Photophores
Dn: present on the antero-dorsal part of orbit behind nostril; females with Dn reduced and smaller than Vn. Males with enlarged Dn that becomes larger than Vn.
Vn: present on the antero-ventral part of the orbit; in female larger than Vn and extends dorsally to contact Dn on anterior part of orbit. Males have Vn similar in size or smaller than Dn.
Op: 2 (first smaller than body photophore behind jaw, second above it the same size as a body photophore)
Color
Dark overall except for silvery sheen on the opercle and pale photophores. Naked body pale. Fins are pale. Caudal fin with speckles along fin rays in fresh specimens. Dark tissue around Dn and Vn.
Size
Mature adults range from 40-60mm.
Habitat
Strictly continental: rare in offshore waters and not in the central gyres. Vertical migrator: found at 325-750m by day and near the surface at night.
Range Map
Range
Atlantic and Caribbean coasts from Florida to the Lesser Antilles. Widely scattered records from the Central American coastline, the Gulf Stream north to Cape Hatteras, and off NE South America.
References
Hartel, K.E. and J.E. Craddock. 2003. Myctophiformes. pp. 942-951. In: FAO Species Identification Guide to Fishes of the Western Atlantic. (ed. Carpenter, K.), pp. 1308–1369. UN FAO Publishers, Rome.
Nafpaktitis, B.G. 1968. Taxonomy and distribution of the lanternfishes, genera Lobianchia and Diaphus, in the North Atlantic. Dana Report No. 73: 1-131, Pls. 1-2.
Nafpaktitis, B.G. 1977. Family Myctophidae. In: Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Sears Foundation for Marine Research. Part 7, No. 1: 13-258.