Lanternfish are so plentiful it is thought that their larvae may account for nearly 50% of all fish larvae found in the ocean. They are left to fend for themselves until they reach maturity. Once the eggs hatch, the young larvae have a small number of photophores for producing light. Spawning is believed to occur year around in most species. Depending on the species, between 100 and 2,000 eggs are released by each fish. This means that the females release their eggs into the water column as a group where they are then fertilized externally by the males. Lanternfish are known as non-guarding pelagic spawners. At shallower depths, lanternfish provide an important food source to a number of organisms including whales, dolphins, tuna, sharks, seals, squid, and sea birds. By returning to the deep sea during the day, they avoid many of the large predators in the shallower seas. It is thought that these migrations may also serve to help the lanternfish avoid predation. They do this to follow the similar migrations of plankton, which serve as their primary food source. They spend the day in the deep ocean but come close to the surface at night in search of food. Lanternfish are known for their diel vertical migrations. There is only one species of lanternfish that is not capable of producing light. In some species, it also varies by gender. The arrangement of these lights varies by species. The body of the lanternfish is covered with light-producing photophores. Large eyes are common in deep sea creatures as they help to collect as much light as possible in the eternally dark waters. They also have a large, round head and large eyes. They have a very slender, compressed body covered with silvery scales and relatively small fins. Lanternfish typically grow to a length of up to 6 inches (15 centimeters), although some species can range in size from 1 to 12 inches (2 to 30 centimeters) in length. In southern oceans, they provide an important food source for squid and penguins. They are among the most most widely distributed and diverse of all vertebrate species and it is believed that they play an important role as prey for larger organisms. Sampling by deep sea trawling indicates that lanternfish make up as much as 65% of the deep sea biomass. In fact, they are thought to be some the most common deep ocean creatures. There are over two hundred different species of lanternfishes in the deep sea.
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