Description 



D. 13 (12-14); A. 13; P. 13 (12-15); AO 2-3 + 1-2; PO 5-7; VO 2-5; gill rakers 3 + 1 -f- 7 (6-8), 

 total 11 (10-12); vertebrae 35-36. 



PVO, J in nearly vertical line. VLO much nearer lateral line than to pelvic base. Pre,. 2 

 interspace small, equal to about one photophore diameter. 



Size: To 68 mm. 



Least depth of capture: Clarke (1973, p. 415) reported that T. bathyphilus was taken 

 regularly between 600 and 1000 m and occasionally deeper both day and night. Greatest 

 catches were between 700 and 800 m. It was the only myctophid which definitely did not 

 migrate. 



Distribution: This species is known from all oceans, but is not common; seldom are more 

 than four taken in one haul. In the eastern Pacific Ocean it has not been taken in the wide area 

 between the tip of Baja California and about 15° S (Fig. 132), perhaps due to the thick layer of 

 oxygen-deficient water underlying the area. 



Fig. 132— Capture localities in the eastern Pacific Ocean for Tanmngichthys bathyphilus (open circles), T. 

 minimus (closed squares) and T. paurolychnus (open triangles). 



146 



