- Són peixos petits: entre 2-30 cm de longitud.
- La línia lateral és ininterrompuda.
- Les aletes són generalment petites.
- Nombre de vèrtebres: 28-45.
- Les espècies més properes a la superfície són d'un verd iridescent blau o plata, mentre que aquelles que viuen a més fondària són de color marró fosc a negre.[3][4]
Són depredats per una àmplia gamma de peixos i d'altres vertebrats marins: cetacis (balenes, dofins, etc.), grans peixos pelàgics (tonyines, taurons, etc.), aus marines (en especial, pingüins) i pinnípedes. També formen part de la dieta dels grans calamars, en especial de Dosidicus gigas.[6][3]
Com a resultat de llurs migracions diürnes, es poden trobar des d'aigües superficials fins a fondàries superiors a 2.000 metres.[6]
S'estenen des de l'Àrtic fins a l'Antàrtida.[6]
- Benthosema (Goode & Bean, 1896)[7]
- Bolinichthys (Paxton, 1972)[13]
- Centrobranchus (Fowler, 1904)[14]
- Ceratoscopelus (Günther, 1864)[15]
- Diaphus (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1890)[16]
- Diogenichthys (Bolin, 1939)[17]
- Electrona (Goode & Bean, 1896)[19]
- Gonichthys (Gistel, 1850)[20]
- Gymnoscopelus (Günther, 1873)[21]
- Hintonia (Fraser-Brunner, 1949)[22]
- Hygophum (Bolin, 1939)[17]
- Idiolychnus (Nafpaktitis & Paxton, 1978)[23]
- Krefftichthys (Hulley, 1981)[24]
- Lampadena (Goode & Bean, 1893)[25]
- Lampanyctodes (Fraser-Brunner, 1949)[22]
- Lampanyctus (Bonaparte, 1840)[26]
- Lampanyctus acanthurus (Wisner, 1974)
- Lampanyctus alatus (Goode & Bean, 1896)
- Lampanyctus australis (Tåning, 1932)
- Lampanyctus crocodilus (Risso, 1810)
- Lampanyctus festivus (Tåning, 1928)
- Lampanyctus hubbsi (Wisner, 1963)
- Lampanyctus intricarius (Tåning, 1928)
- Lampanyctus iselinoides (Bussing, 1965)
- Lampanyctus jordani (Gilbert, 1913)
- Lampanyctus lepidolychnus (Becker, 1967)
- Lampanyctus macdonaldi (Goode & Bean, 1896)
- Lampanyctus macropterus (Brauer, 1904)
- Lampanyctus nobilis (Tåning, 1928)
- Lampanyctus omostigma (Gilbert, 1908)
- Lampanyctus parvicauda (Parr, 1931)
- Lampanyctus photonotus (Parr, 1928)
- Lampanyctus pusillus (Johnson, 1890)
- Lampanyctus simulator (Wisner, 1971)
- Lampanyctus steinbecki (Bolin, 1939)
- Lampanyctus tenuiformis (Brauer, 1906)
- Lampanyctus turneri (Fowler, 1934)
- Lampanyctus vadulus (Hulley, 1981)
- Lampichthys (Fraser-Brunner, 1949)[22]
- Lepidophanes (Fraser-Brunner, 1949)[22]
- Lobianchia (Gatti, 1904)[27]
- Loweina (Fowler, 1925)[30]
- Metelectrona (Wisner, 1963)[31]
- Myctophum (Rafinesque, 1810)[34]
- Myctophum affine (Lütken, 1892)
- Myctophum asperum (Richardson, 1845)
- Myctophum aurolaternatum (Garman, 1899)
- Myctophum brachygnathum (Bleeker, 1856)
- Myctophum fissunovi (Becker & Borodulina, 1971)
- Myctophum indicum (Day, 1877)
- Myctophum lunatum (Becker & Borodulina, 1978)
- Myctophum lychnobium (Bolin, 1946)
- Myctophum nitidulum (Garman, 1899)
- Myctophum obtusirostre (Tåning, 1928)
- Myctophum orientale (Gilbert, 1913)
- Myctophum ovcharovi (Tsarin, 1993)
- Myctophum phengodes (Lütken, 1892)
- Myctophum punctatum (Rafinesque, 1810)
- Myctophum selenops (Tåning, 1928)
- Myctophum spinosum (Steindachner, 1867)
- Nannobrachium (Günther, 1887)[35]
- Nannobrachium achirus (Andriashev, 1962)
- Nannobrachium atrum (Tåning, 1928)
- Nannobrachium bristori (Zahuranec, 2000)
- Nannobrachium crypticum (Zahuranec, 2000)
- Nannobrachium cuprarium (Tåning, 1928)
- Nannobrachium fernae (Wisner, 1971)
- Nannobrachium gibbsi (Zahuranec, 2000)
- Nannobrachium hawaiiensis (Zahuranec, 2000)
- Nannobrachium idostigma (Parr, 1931)
- Nannobrachium indicum (Zahuranec, 2000)
- Nannobrachium isaacsi (Wisner, 1974)
- Nannobrachium lineatum (Tåning, 1928)
- Nannobrachium nigrum (Günther, 1887)
- Nannobrachium phyllisae (Zahuranec, 2000)
- Nannobrachium regale (Gilbert, 1892)
- Nannobrachium ritteri (Gilbert, 1915)
- Nannobrachium wisneri (Zahuranec, 2000)
- Notolychnus (Fraser-Brunner, 1949)[22]
- Notoscopelus (Günther, 1864)[15]
- Parvilux (Hubbs & Wisner, 1964)[36]
- Protomyctophum (Fraser-Brunner, 1949)[22]
- Protomyctophum andriashevi (Becker, 1963)
- Protomyctophum arcticum (Lütken, 1892)
- Protomyctophum beckeri (Wisner, 1971)
- Protomyctophum bolini (Fraser-Brunner, 1949)
- Protomyctophum chilense (Wisner, 1971)
- Protomyctophum choriodon (Hulley, 1981)
- Protomyctophum crockeri (Bolin, 1939)
- Protomyctophum gemmatum (Hulley, 1981)
- Protomyctophum luciferum (Hulley, 1981)
- Protomyctophum normani (Tåning, 1932)
- Protomyctophum parallelum (Lönnberg, 1905)
- Protomyctophum subparallelum (Tåning, 1932)
- Protomyctophum tenisoni (Norman, 1930)
- Protomyctophum thompsoni (Chapman, 1944)
- Scopelopsis (Brauer, 1906)[37]
- Stenobrachius (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1890)[38]
- Symbolophorus (Bolin & Wisner, 1959)[39]
- Taaningichthys (Bolin, 1959)[39]
- Tarletonbeania (Eigenmann & Eigenman, 1890)[38]
- Triphoturus (Fraser-Brunner, 1949)[40]
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