The Neoscopelidae are a small family of deep sea fish closely related to the lanternfish

Lanternfish

Cooper Lanternfishes are small mesopelagic fish of the large family Myctophidae. One of two families in the order Myctophiformes, the Myctophidae are represented by 246 species in 33 genera, and are found in oceans worldwide. They are aptly named after their conspicuous use of bioluminescence...

. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine waters worldwide.

They can be distinguished from the lanternfish only by a few technical characters, such as the position of the anal fin being far behind that of the dorsal fin

Dorsal fin

A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...

. Some, but not all, species also lack the light-emitting organs (photophore

Photophore

A photophore is a light-emitting organ which appears as luminous spots on various marine animals, including fish and cephalopods. The organ can be simple, or as complex as the human eye; equipped with lenses, shutters, color filters and reflectors...

s) of the lanternfish. They are typically between 20 centimetres (7.9 in) and 30 centimetres (11.8 in) in length.

Species

There are just six known species of neoscopelid, grouped into three genera:

Family Neoscopelidae

• Genus Neoscopelus
  • Neoscopelus macrolepidotus - Large-scaled lantern fish
  • Neoscopelus microchir - Shortfin neoscopelid
  • Neoscopelus porosus - Spangleside neoscopelid
• Genus Scopelengys
  • Scopelengys clarkei
  • Scopelengys tristis - Pacific blackchin
• Genus Solivomer
  • Solivomer arenidens