Lovely Hatchetfish

Argyropelecus aculeatus

''Argyropelecus aculeatus'', the lovely hatchetfish or Atlantic silver hatchetfish, is a species of fish in the family Sternoptychidae. It may exceed 70 millimetres standard length. It lives in the mesopelagic zone of all oceans and performs diel vertical migration.
Lovely Hatchetfish (Argyropelecus aculeatus) was trawled from between 1,200-1,000m depth, Gulf of Mexico This Lovely Hatchetfish (Argyropelecus aculeatus) was trawled from between 1,200-1,000m depth, Gulf of Mexico, April 2021.  All of this is part of the DEEPEND-RESTORE Project (www.deependconsortium.org).  The work has been done out on the RV Point Sur with an amazing captain and crew.  A big thanks to CSA and Gray Lawson for management of the MOCNESS system. My participation is by way of the Center for Conservation & Research, San Antonio Zoo. Argyropelecus aculeatus,Life in the dark

Food

''A. aculeatus'' feeds on a large range of prey items; in the Gulf of Mexico ostracods and copepods dominated the diet of small individuals.

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Status: Least concern
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderStomiiformes
FamilySternoptychidae
GenusArgyropelecus
SpeciesA. aculeatus