Gonichthys cocco explained

Gonichthys cocco, often called the Cocco's lanternfish, is a species of oceanodromous lanternfish.^[1]

Distribution and habitat

It lives in the Eastern and Western Atlantic, near areas like Portugal, Liberia, Angola, South Africa, Brazil, and the eastern Mediterranean. It is found from depths from below the surface, usually at below the surface. During the day it is in waters from deep, and can be up to deep at night to feed.^[2]

Description

G. cocco can reach a length of up to . It has 10 to 13 dorsal soft rays, and 21 to 23 anal soft rays. Mature males have 6 to 8 supracaudal luminous structures, while mature females only have 3 to 6.

Conservation

It has no threats; its distribution overlaps with several marine protected areas, and its population is stable, and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List.^[3]

Taxonomy

G. cocco is one of four species in its genus. The other three are Gonichthys barnesi, Gonichthys tenuiculus, and Gonichthys venetus.^[4]

Synonymised names

Placed by the WoRMS.^[5]

• Alysia loricata Lowe, 1839
• Gonichthys coccoi Cocco, 1829 (misspelling)
• Myctophum coccoi Cocco, 1829 (misspelling)
• Myctophum hians Richardson, 1845
• Rhinoscopelus cocco Cocco, 1829
• Rhinoscopelus coccoi Cocco, 1829 (misspelling)
• Scopelus cocco Cocco, 1829
• Scopelus coccoi Günther, 1864
• Scopelus gracile Lütken, 1892
• Scopelus gracilis Lütken, 1892
• Scopelus jagorii Peters, 1859 (synonym)

References

1. Web site: Gonichthys cocco summary page. FishBase. en. 2019-04-07.
2. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019-04-07.
3. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019-04-07.
4. Web site: ADW: Gonichthys: CLASSIFICATION. animaldiversity.org. 2019-04-07.
5. Web site: WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Gonichthys cocco (Cocco, 1829). www.marinespecies.org. 2019-04-07.