Goiter blacksmelt

Goiter blacksmelt
File:Bathylagus euryops.jpg
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Argentiniformes
Family:	Bathylagidae
Genus:	Bathylagus
Species:	B. euryops
Binomial name
Bathylagus euryops Goode & T. H. Bean, 1896

The goiter blacksmelt (Bathylagus euryops) is a species of deep-sea smelt found in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is the biomass dominant pelagic fish over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge when the entire water column is fully considered. The water-column in which it resides is 500 to 3,237 metres (1,640 to 10,620 ft) deep. No topographic trapping can be performed on the species as they do not vertically migrate. This species grows to a length of 13 centimetres (5.1 in) TL.

Despite the fact that one would expect the abundancy of Bathylagus species to decrease with increasing depth, there are just as many individuals at depths of over 2000m as there are close to the surface. This staggering statistic enables us to bring forward ideas concerning how currents affect the distribution of species at different depths in the water column. From here, we can begin to further explore the mysteries of deep dwelling ocean species and marvel at how dispersal and recruitment can actually take place in these seemingly inhospitable conditions.

References

• Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012). "Bathylagus euryops" in FishBase. February 2012 version.
• at ITIS.gov