Topside lampfish

Notolychnus valdiviae

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth90–1,160 m
Water temperature10–30 °C
Best monthsSeptember, October, and November
How commonCommon

About this species

Notolychnus valdiviae, the topside lanternfish, is a species of lanternfish found in the oceans worldwide. This species grows to a length of 6.3 centimetres (2.5 in) TL.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Notolychnus”, 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: 86 records
February: 189 records
March: 136 records
April: 159 records
May: 66 records
June: 183 records
July: 151 records
August: 130 records
September: 296 records
October: 253 records
November: 201 records
December: 152 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 90–1,160 m · Deepest record: 4,700 m

0–10 m: 5 records
10–20 m: 5 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 12 records
40–50 m: 4 records
50–60 m: 39 records
60–70 m: 22 records
70–80 m: 33 records
80–90 m: 16 records
90–100 m: 24 records
100–110 m: 32 records
110+ m: 1,200 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 10–30 °C

10–12 °C: 4 records
12–14 °C: 0 records
14–16 °C: 11 records
16–18 °C: 47 records
18–20 °C: 39 records
20–22 °C: 21 records
22–24 °C: 117 records
24–26 °C: 74 records
26–28 °C: 72 records
28–30 °C: 9 records

Names and classification

English: Topside lampfish, Lanternfish, topside lampfish, Topside Lanternfish, Topside lanternfish, Topside lampfish

Names in 3 more languages

Spanish: linternilla alta, Mictófido, pez linterna de Valdivia
French: Lanterne de Valdivia
Japanese: Urahadaka, ウラハダカ

Other scientific names: Myctophum valdiviae, Vestula valdiviae

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).
8,273 open-data records from 1902 to 2023.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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