Argyropelecus is an oceanic ray-finned fish genus in the deep sea hatchetfish family Sternoptychidae. A collective name is "silver hatchetfishes", but this can also refer to a species of the freshwater hatchetfishes which are not particularly closely related to this. The large pupils of these marine hatchetfishes enable them to see dim objects in the deep sea, where light barely penetrates.

Species

There are currently seven recognized extant species in this genus:

  • Argyropelecus aculeatus <small>Valenciennes, 1850</small> (lovely hatchetfish, Atlantic silver hatchetfish)
  • Argyropelecus affinis <small>Garman, 1899</small> (Pacific hatchetfish)
  • Argyropelecus gigas <small>Norman, 1930</small> (giant hatchetfish, greater silver hatchetfish)
  • Argyropelecus hemigymnus <small>Cocco, 1829</small> (half-naked hatchetfish, short silver hatchetfish, spurred hatchetfish)
  • Argyropelecus lychnus <small>Garman, 1899</small> (tropical hatchetfish)
  • Argyropelecus olfersii <small>(G. Cuvier, 1829)</small>
  • Argyropelecus sladeni <small>Regan, 1908</small> (Sladen's hatchetfish, silvery hatchetfish)

Fossil record

Extinct Argyropelecus species include:

  • †Argyropelecus bullockii <small>David, 1943</small> (Late Miocene of Monterey and Modelo Formations, California)
  • †Argyropelecus iranicus <small>Ridolfi et al., 2025</small> (Middle Eocene of Pabdeh Formation, Iran)
  • †Argyropelecus logearti <small>Arambourg, 1929</small> (Late Miocene of Algeria and Italy)
  • †Argyropelecus priscus <small>Cosmovici & Pauca, 1943</small> (Oligocene of the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and North Caucasus, Russia)
  • †Argyropelecus zagrosensis <small>Ridolfi et al., 2025</small> (Middle Eocene of Pabdeh Formation, Iran)

left|thumb|[[Argyropelecus prisca|A. prisca, a fossil species from the Oligocene of Romania]]

The earliest unequivocal fossils of Argyropelecus date to the Bartonian stage of the Eocene.

References

  • Information about Argyropelecus aculeatus