''Stomias affinis'', also known as Gunther's boafish, is a deep-sea

mesopelagic 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 ...

fish species in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Stomiidae Stomiidae is a family of deep-sea ray-finned fish, including the barbeled dragonfishes. They are quite small, usually around 15 cm, up to 26 cm. These fish are apex predators and have enormous jaws filled with fang-like teeth. They are ...

. They inhabit the open seas in the equatorial zones of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Description

''Stomias affinis'' is an elongated, slender,

barbeled dragonfish Stomiidae is a family of deep-sea ray-finned fish, including the barbeled dragonfishes. They are quite small, usually around 15 cm, up to 26 cm. These fish are apex predators and have enormous jaws filled with fang-like teeth. They are ...

and is a

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

species. Females are larger, averaging a maximum length of while males average up to . It has a short barbel on its chin and a few illuminated

photophores A photophore is a glandular organ that appears as luminous spots on various marine animals, including fish and cephalopods. The organ can be simple, or as complex as the human eye; equipped with lenses, shutters, color filters and reflectors, ...

between its lateral and ventral rows. The fish's stomach is caramel in color with white spots and constitutes seventy-five percent of the total body length.

Distribution and habitat

''Stomias affinis'' geographic findings include the Arabian Sea, Celebes Sea, the Gulf of Aden, Socotra, the Somali coast and the South China Sea. They are a vertically distributed species that inhabit open ocean between to over . They share the same habitat area as Stomias nebuloses and are not suited for living in a low-oxygen environment. They inhabit deeper water during the day and are found above 150m during the night.

Diet

Diet consists of mostly

myctophid Lanternfishes (or myctophids, from the Greek μυκτήρ ''myktḗr'', "nose" and ''ophis'', "serpent") are small mesopelagic fish of the large family Myctophidae. One of two families in the order Myctophiformes, the Myctophidae are represente ...

fishes including the '' Diaphus'' genus and other small unidentified fish as well as

decapods The Decapoda or decapods (literally "ten-footed") are an order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, including many familiar groups, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp and prawns. Most decapods are scavengers. The order is estim ...

. It is estimated that at least one myctophid is eaten every twelve days.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3495416 Stomiidae Fish described in 1887 Taxa named by Albert Günther