''Argyropelecus gigas'', the giant hatchetfish or greater silver hatchetfish, is a marine fish of the genus ''

Argyropelecus ''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 particula ...

''. It is found in every ocean except the north Pacific in the

mesopelagic zone The mesopelagic zone (Greek μέσον, middle), also known as the middle pelagic or twilight zone, is the part of the pelagic zone that lies between the photic epipelagic and the aphotic bathypelagic zones. It is defined by light, and begins ...

of tropical and subtropical waters. "Giant" in relative terms only, this is the largest species of

marine hatchetfish Marine hatchetfishes or deep-sea hatchetfishes are small deep-sea mesopelagic ray-finned fish of the stomiiform subfamily Sternoptychinae. They should not be confused with the freshwater hatchetfishes, which are not particularly closely relate ...

es, often exceeding

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

References

External links

* * Sternoptychidae Fish of the Dominican Republic Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish of the Indian Ocean Fish of the Pacific Ocean Fish described in 1930 Taxa named by John Roxborough Norman {{Stomiiformes-stub