Scopelopsis multipunctatus, the multispotted lanternfish, is a species of lanternfish. This species grows to a length of 9.5 cm (3.7 in).[1]
Scopelopsis multipunctatus has round eyes, a long and slender body, and a forked homocercal caudal fin.[2]
Scopelopsis multipunctatus' larvae are slender and range in size anywhere from 5-18 mm (0.2-0.7 in), with its head spanning about a quarter of the body length.[2] Their eyes are large at younger stages and decrease in size relative to their head over time.[2]
They develop a pattern of melanophores along the ventral side of the body, as well as the head, dorsal fin, and caudal fin, as they mature.[2] Photophores also develop along the ventral half of the body during the larval stages of the multispotted lanternfish.[2]
Scopelopsis multipunctatus follow a subtropical zoogeographic pattern.[3] Its distribution is restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, ranging from 15-25° S in the Pacific Ocean and 23-29° S in the Indian Ocean.[4][5]
They can be found in both warm and cold waters of the ocean.[1]
The diet of Scopelopsis multipunctatus consists of copepods; amphipods and euphausiids; larval molluscs, ostracods, polychaetes, and siphonophores; and salps.[1]
Scopelopsis multipunctatus, the multispotted lanternfish, is a species of lanternfish. This species grows to a length of 9.5 cm (3.7 in).
