Lanternfish Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Small, slender, typically silvery body, usually 2-6 inches long
• Numerous light-producing photophores arranged in distinct, species-specific rows along the belly, sides, and head
• Large eyes adapted for low-light vision
• Single soft dorsal fin, with a small fleshy adipose fin near the tail
• Fairly large mouth with fine teeth
• Loosely attached, easily shed scales
• Body color and photophore pattern vary by species, aiding scientists in telling the many myctophid species apart

Common look-alikes

• Hatchetfish: strongly flattened, deep, hatchet-shaped body versus the lanternfish's more typical, elongated fish shape
• Silversides and anchovies: lack rows of photophores entirely and have a more streamlined, unadorned body
• Bristlemouths: have a large, gaping mouth lined with needle-like teeth and fewer, less organized photophores than lanternfish

Where you'll see one

Lanternfish are among the most abundant vertebrates on Earth, found throughout the world's oceans in the mesopelagic zone. Most species undertake nightly vertical migrations, rising toward the surface to feed under cover of darkness and retreating to several hundred meters depth by day, forming one of the largest biomass migrations on the planet.