Kingdom Animalia Class Actinopterygii Family Anomalopidae | Phylum Chordata Order Beryciformes Rank Species | |
Genus Phthanophaneron
G. D. Johnson & Rosenblatt, 1988 Similar Photoblepharon, Anomalopidae, Splitfin flashlightfish, Beryciformes, Anoplogaster cornuta | ||
Phthanophaneron harveyi, the Gulf flashlightfish, is a species of saltwater fish of the family Anomalopidae, also known as lanterneye fish, of the order Beryciformes. It is endemic to the Gulf of Mexico. This cryptic fish is the only known member of its genus.
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Taxonomy
Its genus name comes from Greek: "phthano" meaning "to arrive the first", and "phaneros" meaning "visible." It was named "harveyi" after American zoologist and leading bioluminescence authority Edmund Newton Harvey. It was originally classified as a species of Kryptophanaron along with the Atlantic flashlightfish, but was later moved to its own genus.
Description
Although some sources list its maximum size as 8.0 cm (3.1 in) TL, a 1986 paper claims that a female specimen was caught with a length of 20.4 cm (8.0 in) SL.
Distribution and habitat
P. harveyi is found only in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California and in the Gulf of Mexico. It is only known from four specimens. The depths at which it was caught were between 32 and 36 m (105 and 118 ft). It is associated with reefs and can be found over soft and rocky substrates.
Relationship with humans
Although it has been dispalyed in public aquariums, little is known about P. harveyi. It has been caught by shrimp trawlers, but only "very rarely."