The white-spotted lantern fish (Diaphus rafinesquii), also called Rafinesque's lanternfish, is a species of fish in the family Myctophidae.[3][4][5][6]
Its specific name refers to the polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque (1783–1840).[7]
The white-spotted lantern fish is silvery in colour, spotted with photophores, with a maximum length of 9 cm (3.5 in).[8]
Diaphus rafinesquii is bathypelagic or mesopelagic and oceanodromous, living at depths of 40–2,173 m (131–7,129 ft) in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.[9][10][11] During the day, it is typically found at 325–750 m (1,066–2,461 ft) and at night, the adults are at 300–600 m (980–1,970 ft) and the young at 40–200 m (130–660 ft).[12]
Males are slightly larger; spawning is in autumn and winter.[13]
The white-spotted lantern fish (Diaphus rafinesquii), also called Rafinesque's lanternfish, is a species of fish in the family Myctophidae.