Hector's Lanternfish

Lampanyctodes hectoris

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth130–465 m
Water temperature8–22 °C
Best monthsJanuary and February
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

Hector's lanternfish is a lanternfish in the family Myctophidae, the only species in the genus Lampanyctodes. It is named after James Hector.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Hector's lanternfish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 469 records
February: 351 records
March: 4 records
April: 11 records
May: 30 records
June: 29 records
July: 114 records
August: 80 records
September: 46 records
October: 39 records
November: 15 records
December: 16 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 130–465 m · Deepest record: 2,058 m

0–10 m: 4 records
10–20 m: 1 records
20–30 m: 4 records
30–40 m: 6 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 3 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 6 records
80–90 m: 8 records
90–100 m: 10 records
100–110 m: 18 records
110+ m: 892 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–22 °C

6–8 °C: 10 records
8–10 °C: 42 records
10–12 °C: 12 records
12–14 °C: 29 records
14–16 °C: 239 records
16–18 °C: 363 records
18–20 °C: 53 records
20–22 °C: 9 records

Names and classification

English: Hector's Lanternfish

Names in 1 more languages

French: Poisson lanterne

Other scientific names: Lampanyctus argenteus, Lampanyctus hectoris, Myctophum argenteus, Scopelus argenteus, Scopelus hectoris

Similar species

Warming's lantern fish
Ceratoscopelus warmingii
Dogtooth lampfish
Ceratoscopelus townsendi
Atlantic Lanternfish
Diogenichthys atlanticus
Diogenes lanternfish
Diogenichthys laternatus
Electric lantern fish
Electrona risso
Bermuda lantern fish
Hygophum hygomii

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,424 open-data records from 1926 to 2018.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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