Northern lampfish

The northern lampfish (Stenobrachius leucopsarus), also known as smallfin lanternfish,^[1] is a small oceanic fish in the family Myctophidae. First described by husband and wife ichthyologists Carl H. and Rosa Smith Eigenmann in 1890,^[2] it is named for the numerous small round photophores that line the ventral surface of its head and body.

Northern lampfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Myctophiformes
Family:	Myctophidae
Genus:	Stenobrachius
Species:	S. leucopsarus
Binomial name
Stenobrachius leucopsarus Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1890

A blunt-nosed, relatively large-mouthed fish with small teeth and large eyes,^[3] it is gray to dark greenish blue on its dorsal surface and paler ventrally, with black on its fins and operculum.^[2] Its large scales rub off easily.^[3] Adults can reach 13 centimetres (5 in) in length^[3] and live as long as 8 years.^[2]

Found in the Pacific Ocean from Japan and Baja California to the Bering Sea,^[3] it is the most common species of lanternfish in the northwestern Pacific,^[4] and one of the most abundant larval fish in the California Current.^[5] Like all lanternfish, this is a deep sea species; it spends the day in the ocean's deeper bathypelagic and mesopelagic zones and ascends to or near the ocean's surface during the night.^[3][4] It is a cool-water fish.^[6]

Like most fish, it is oviparous;^[2] It feeds on plankton,^[7] and is eaten by numerous predators, including fish such as salmon and tuna^[3] and birds such as the red-legged kittiwake.^[8]