A review on mesopelagic fishes belonging to family Myctophidae

Purification and characterization of a novel thermostable luciferase from Benthosema pterotum

“…Myctophids are mesopelagic fishes from family of Myctophidae, represented by about 250 species in 33 genera. They are called ''Lanternfishes'', a family of the largest fish species inhabit in deep sea and oceans but not in the Arctic [3][4][5]. Although a significant number of these species are identified, biochemical knowledge about their bioluminescence is limited and studies of the photochemical systems, of unidentified species are of scientific importance [6][7][8].…”

“…Benthosema pterotum species from this family are among the most abundant and wide spread fishes in deep oceans. Their average length is usually 15 mm, ranging from 2 to 30 mm, and their weight from 2 to 6 g. They have a specific big and shiny head with oval eyes and small body; color varies from greenish silver in shore species to dark brown for deep sea species [3,5]. The most specific feature that discriminates them from all similar organisms in the sea is the presence of luminescence photophores on their head and body.…”

Wanderer of the deepest seas: migratory behaviour and distribution of the highly pelagic Bulwer’s petrel

“…These tropical midAtlantic areas are mostly known to be of low productivity (Ramírez et al 2013) and have even been suggested to act as an ecological barrier for long distance seabird migrants (Dias et al 2012a). The fact that Bulwer's petrels can survive in these environments is possibly linked to their very low wing-loading (being able to benefit from the light tropical winds), plus their ability to efficiently locate and capture mesopelagic prey, which may be largely unavailable to many other of the larger, diurnal migratory seabird species studied so far, but are abundant in open oceanic areas (Kozlov 1995;Nybakken 2001;Catul et al 2011). Bulwer's petrels revealed a remarkable flight activity during darkness, spending more than 90 % of their at-sea time flying, all year round.…”

“…Mesopelagic fishes and squids typically display diel vertical migrations (DVM) that make them more available at the sea surface during darkness (Roper and Young 1975;Gjøsaeter and Kawaguchi 1980;Harrison et al 1983), but the behavioural adaptations of seabirds to this temporal variability of their prey items remains mostly unknown. On the other hand, mesopelagic species are much more abundant in open, oceanic waters than in the continental shelf (Kozlov 1995;Nybakken 2001;Catul et al 2011), which likely shapes the at-sea distribution of their avian predators, in particular during the non-breeding season, when they are free from spatial constraints linked to colony attendance and reproduction (Mackley et al 2010).…”

Lipid and Fatty Acids of Three Edible Myctophids, Diaphus watasei, Diaphus suborbitalis, and Benthosema pterotum: High Levels of Icosapentaenoic and Docosahexaenoic Acids

“…8 ; for B. pterotum 9 ; for B. pterotum etc. 1 , few reports of studies of the chemical components of the flesh of myctophids for the nutritive value have been published for 22 species of myctophids 18 ; for 13 myctophid species 16 ; for 3 myctophids species 19 ; for 2 myctophids species 20 . Furthermore, only a few papers for B. pterotum 20 have presented analyses of the fatty acid composition of the three edible myctophids, D. watasei watases lanternfish , D. suborbitalis, and B. pterotum Skinnycheek lanternfish .…”