Argyropelecus


Argyropelecus is an oceanic ray-finned fish genus which belongs in the family Sternoptychidae. A collective name is "silver hatchetfishes", but this can also refer to a species of the freshwater hatchetfishes which are not particularly closely related to. The large pupils of these marine hatchetfishes enable them to see dim objects in the deep sea, where light barely penetrates.

Species

There are currently seven recognized extant species in this genus:
The earliest unequivocal fossils of Argyropelecus date from the start of the Chattian stage of the Late Oligocene The original assessment of Eocene-aged otoliths from Austria assigned to this genus is now questioned.