Argyropelecus

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis/Classis: Actinopterygii
Classis/Subclassis: Actinopteri
Subclassis/Infraclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Superordo: Stenopterygii
Ordo: Stomiiformes
Subordo: Gonostomatoidei

Familia: Sternoptychidae
Subfamilia: Sternoptychinae
Genus: Argyropelecus
Species (7): A. aculeatus – A. affinis – A. gigas – A. hemigymnus – A. lychnus – A. olfersii – A. sladeni
Name

Argyropelecus Cocco, 1829
Synonyms

Pleurothyris Lowe, 1843
Sternoptychides Ogilby, 1888

References
Links

Argyropelecus species list in FishBase,
Froese, R. & Pauly, D. (eds.) 2022. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication, www.fishbase.org, version 08/2021.
Argyropelecus and its species (including synonyms) in Catalog of Fishes, Eschmeyer, W.N., Fricke, R. & van der Laan, R. (eds.) 2022. Catalog of Fishes electronic version.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Beilfische

Argyropelecus is an oceanic ray-finned fish genus in the deep sea hatchetfish 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 this. 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:[1]

Argyropelecus aculeatus Valenciennes, 1850 (lovely hatchetfish, Atlantic silver hatchetfish)
Argyropelecus affinis Garman, 1899 (Pacific hatchetfish)
Argyropelecus gigas Norman, 1930 (giant hatchetfish, greater silver hatchetfish)
Argyropelecus hemigymnus Cocco, 1829 (half-naked hatchetfish, short silver hatchetfish, spurred hatchetfish)
Argyropelecus lychnus Garman, 1899 (tropical hatchetfish)
Argyropelecus olfersi (G. Cuvier, 1829)
Argyropelecus sladeni Regan, 1908 (Sladen's hatchetfish, silvery hatchetfish)

The earliest unequivocal fossils of Argyropelecus date from the start of the Chattian stage of the Late Oligocene[2] The original assessment of Eocene-aged otoliths from Austria assigned to this genus is now questioned.[2]
References

Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012). Species of Argyropelecus in FishBase. February 2012 version.
Carnevale, Giorgio. "Redescription and phylogenetic relationships of Argyropelecus logearti (Teleostei: Stomiiformes: Sternoptychidae), with a brief review of fossil Argyropelecus." Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia (Research In Paleontology and Stratigraphy) 109.1 (2003).