Codlets are a family, Bregmacerotidae, of

cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...

-like fishes, containing the single genus ''Bregmaceros'' found in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

waters throughout the world. They are very small fishes and even the largest, ''B. lanceolatus'', reaches only in length.

Etymology

Their scientific name is from Greek ''bregma'' meaning the top of the head, and ''keras'' meaning "horn"; this refers to their occipital ray (a spine emerging from the top of the head).

Fossil record

Fossils of ''Bregmaceros'' are found from the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

to the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

(age range: from 37.2 to 0.0 million years ago.). They are known from various localities in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Species

Currently, 14 species in this genus are recognized: * '' Bregmaceros arabicus'' D'Ancona & Cavinato, 1965 * '' Bregmaceros atlanticus''

Goode Goode ( or , depending on family) is a surname. Notable people Notable people with the surname include: * Alex Goode (Born 1988), British rugby union player * Alexander D. Goode (1911-1943), US Army chaplain * Andy Goode (born 1980), British ru ...

Bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

, 1886 (antenna codlet) * '' Bregmaceros bathymaster'' D. S. Jordan & Bollman, 1890 (codlet) * '' Bregmaceros cantori'' Milliken & Houde, 1984 (striped codlet) * '' Bregmaceros cayorum''

Nichols Nichols may refer to: People *Nichols (surname) *Nichol, a surname Places Canada * Nichols Islands, Nunavut United States * Nichols, California, an unincorporated community * Nichols Canyon, Los Angeles, California * Nichols, Connecticut * Nic ...

, 1952 * '' Bregmaceros houdei'' Saksena &

Richards Richards may refer to: *Richards (surname) In places: * Richards, New South Wales, Australia * Richards, Missouri, United States * Richards, Texas, United States In other uses: * Richards (lunar crater) Richards is a small lunar impact crate ...

, 1986 (stellate codlet) * '' Bregmaceros japonicus'' S. Tanaka (I), 1908 (Japanese codlet) * '' Bregmaceros lanceolatus'' S. C. Shen, 1960 * ''

Bregmaceros mcclellandi The spotted codlet, MacClelland's unicorn-cod, or unicorn cod, ''Bregmaceros mcclellandi'', is a small, deepwater codlet fish found in the western Indian Ocean to eastern Thailand. It occurs from the surface to depths of , and it reaches up to i ...

'' W. Thompson, 1840 (spotted codlet, Macclelland's unicorn-cod, unicorn cod) * '' Bregmaceros nectabanus'' Whitley, 1941 (smallscale codlet) * ''

Bregmaceros neonectabanus Codlets are a family, Bregmacerotidae, of cod-like fishes, containing the single genus ''Bregmaceros'' found in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. They are very small fishes and even the largest, ''B. lanceolatus'', reaches onl ...

'' S. Masuda,

Ozawa Ozawa (written: or lit. "small swamp") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Eitaro Ozawa (1909-1988), Japanese actor *Ichirō Ozawa (born 1942), Japanese politician *Hideaki Ozawa (born 1974), Japanese football goalkee ...

& Tabeta, 1986 * ''

Bregmaceros pescadorus Codlets are a family, Bregmacerotidae, of cod-like fishes, containing the single genus ''Bregmaceros'' found in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. They are very small fishes and even the largest, ''B. lanceolatus'', reaches onl ...

'' S. C. Shen, 1960 * '' Bregmaceros pseudolanceolatus''

Torii A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred. The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simplest ...

, Javonillo &

, 2004 (false lance codlet) * '' Bregmaceros rarisquamosus'' Munro, 1950 (big-eye unicorn-cod)

References

* Bregmacerotidae {{Gadiformes-stub