Argyropelecus aculeatus

Argyropelecus aculeatus, the lovely hatchetfish or Atlantic silver hatchetfish, is a species of fish in the family Sternoptychidae.^[1] It may exceed 70 millimetres (2.8 in) standard length (SL). It lives in the mesopelagic zone of all oceans and performs diel vertical migration.^[2] A. aculeatus feeds on a large range of prey items; in the Gulf of Mexico ostracods and copepods dominated the diet of small individuals (<30 mm SL) and euphausiids, molluscs, and fish the diet of larger ones.^[3] The silvery coloration and bioluminescence of the lovely hatchetfish allows it to hide from predators and prey in the down-welling light of the twilight zone.^[4]

Argyropelecus aculeatus
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Stomiiformes
Family:	Sternoptychidae
Genus:	Argyropelecus
Species:	A. aculeatus
Binomial name
Argyropelecus aculeatus Valenciennes, 1850