font settings

Font Size: Large | Normal | Small
Font Face: Verdana | Geneva | Georgia

Lampriformes

(Order)

Overview

[ Back to top ]

Lampriformes (also spelt Lampridiformes) are an of ray-finned fish that includes about 50 living species of deep sea fishes, including the opahs, crestfishes, ribbonfishes, and oarfish. These are acanthomorph teleosts which diverged from other teleosts during the Cretaceous, in the late Campanian epoch, when the first lamprid, Nardovelifer appears in the fossil record. The lampriforms then began a radiation even in the succeeding Paleocene period, 60 million years ago. Their sister order is the Myctophiformes.

Lampriforms have a highly variable body form, but they are usually deep-bodied or elongate. They vary greatly in size, ranging from less than 30 centimetres (12 in) in the sailfin moonfishes, to the longest of all bony fishes, Regalecus glesne, which has been recorded at up to 17 metres (56 ft). The premaxilla completely excludes the maxilla from the gape. However, the jaws are highly protrusible, with a unique type of protrusible upper jaw. The maxilla, instead of being ligamentously attached to the ethmoid and palatine, slides in and out with the highly protractile premaxilla.1]

The lampridiforms have 84-96 total vertebrae, but lack fin spines. The pelvic fins have 0-17 rays and are placed rather far toward the front of the animal. The dorsal fins are long, and tend to run most of the length of the body. They lack scales. The fishes are normally found at depths of 100-1000 m but are pelagic, not bottom feeders. They are typically brightly colored as adults, often with brilliant crimson fins.

Classification

[ Back to top ]

The order contains eighteen known extant species in seven families:

Order Lampriformes

Photos

[ Back to top ]

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

The Order Lampriformes is further organized into finer groupings including:

Families

[ Back to top ]

Lampridae

Opah (also known colloquially as moonfish, sunfish, , redfin ocean pan, and Jerusalem haddock) are large, colorful, deep-bodied pelagic Lampriform fish comprising the small family Lampridae (also spelled Lamprididae). There are only two living species in a single genus: Lampris (from the Greek lamprid-, "brilliant" or "clear"). One species is found in tropical to temperate waters of most oceans, while the other is limited to a circumglobal distribution in the Southern Ocean, with the 34th parallel as its northern limit. [more]

Lophotidae

Crestfishes are fishes in the family Lophotidae. They are elongate ribbon-like fishes, silver in color, found in deep tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. Their scientific name is from Greek lophos meaning "crest" and refer to the crest (part of the dorsal fin) that emerges from the snout and head; this structure gives them their other name of unicorn fishes. [more]

Radiicephalidae

[more]

Regalecidae

Oarfish are large, greatly elongated, Lampriform comprising the small family Regalecidae. Found in all temperate to tropical oceans yet rarely seen, the oarfish family contains four species in two genera. One of these, the king of herrings (Regalecus glesne), is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest bony fish alive, at up to 11 metres (36 ft) in length. [more]

Stylephoridae

The tube-eye or thread-tail, Stylephorus chordatus, is a deep-sea fish, the only fish in the genus Stylephorus and family Stylephoridae. [more]

Trachipteridae

The ribbonfish are any in the family Trachipteridae. These pelagic fish are named for their slim, ribbon-like appearance. They are rarely seen alive as they typically live in deep waters (though are not bottom feeders). [more]

Turkmenidae

[more]

Veliferidae

Sailfin moonfishes are a small family, Veliferidae, of fishes. They are found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. [more]

At least 5 species and subspecies belong to the Family Veliferidae.

More info about the Family Veliferidae may be found here.

References

[ Back to top ]
  1. ^ Olney, John E. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 167–169. ISBN 0-12-547665-5. 

Sources

[ Back to top ]
Last Revised: September 22, 2009
2009/09/22 07:59:10