Tinselfish

The Grammicolepididae are a small family of deep-sea fishes, called tinselfishes due to their silvery color.

Tinselfishes
Thorny tinselfish, Grammicolepis brachiusculus, filmed by the NOAA Ocean Explorer at Northampton Seamounts, 40 miles (65 km) southwest of Laysan, Hawaii.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Zeiformes
Family:
Grammicolepididae

Poey, 1873
Sub-families & Genera[1]

Sub-family Grammicolepidinae
Grammicolepis
Xenolepidichthys
Sub-family Macrurocyttinae
Macrurocyttus

They are related to the dories, and have similar deeply compressed bodies. The largest species, the thorny tinselfish, Grammicolepis brachiusculus, grows up to 64 cm (25 in) long.

They are found in isolated areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, where they inhabit deep waters: they have been found down to about 1,000 m (3,300 ft). They are rarely caught in trawls. Five have been caught south of the Bay of Biscay. One was caught off Scotland in 2004, and one off Co. Kerry, Ireland in December 2010 by Rossaveal trawler "Maria Magdelena III"

References
  • "Thorny Tinselfish". Australian Museum Fish Site. Retrieved 30 March 2006.
  • {Irish Times 23 December 2010}
  1. Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2012). "Grammicolepididae" in FishBase. October 2012 version.


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