Tinselfish
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Automatic taxobox
The Grammicolepididae are a small family of deep-sea ray-finned fishes in the order Zeiformes.[1][2][3][4] They are called tinselfishes due to their silvery color.[5] They are found near the bottom on the continental slope in the tropical and temperate regions of the Atlantic, Indian and western-central Pacific Oceans. They are of no commercial interest but are sometimes caught in trawls.[4]
Genera and species
The family consists of three species in as many genera in two subfamilies:[1][2][3][4]
Subfamily Grammicolepidinae
- Grammicolepis
- Macrurocyttus acanthopodus Fowler, 1934
- Xenolepidichthys
- Xenolepidichthys dalgleishi Gilchrist 1922
Subfamily Macrurocyttinae
- Macrurocyttus
- Macrurocyttus acanthopodus Fowler, 1934
Phylogeny
Molecular data not including Macrurocyttus suggest that Grammicolepididae is a monophyletic group, but without robust identification of its sister group. Morphological data including Macrurocyttus suggest that the family is polyphyletic, with Macrurocyttus representing a clade distant from Grammicolepis+Xenolepidichthys.[6]
Description
The largest species, the thorny tinselfish, Grammicolepis brachiusculus, grows up to Script error: No such module "convert". long.[1] Grammicolepis and Xenolepidichthys are silvery fishers with deep and compressed bodies. They have unique, vertically elongate scales. Macrurocyttus are dark brown to black, without scales, and smaller, to Script error: No such module "convert".. They have extremely large eyes and one large serrated spine in the pelvic fins.[4]
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".