Warming's lantern fish facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Warming's lantern fish
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Myctophiformes
Family:	Myctophidae
Genus:	Ceratoscopelus
Species:	C. warmingii
Binomial name
Ceratoscopelus warmingii (Lütken, 1892)
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Warming's lantern fish (Ceratoscopelus warmingii) is a small, glowing fish. It lives deep in the ocean. This fish is found all over the world. It is part of the lanternfish family, called Myctophidae.

During the day, it swims very deep, about 700 and 1,500 m (2,300 and 4,900 ft) down. At night, it comes up closer to the surface, around 20 and 200 m (70 and 660 ft). This fish grows to be about 8 cm (3.15 in) long.

What Does Warming's Lantern Fish Look Like?

Warming's lantern fish is a small fish, growing to about 8 cm (3.15 in) in length. It has a rounded fin on its back, called the dorsal fin. This fin has 13 to 15 soft rays. Its anal fin, on the underside, has a similar number of rays.

One of the coolest things about this fish is its body. It has special spots and scale-like specks that glow! This glowing ability is called bioluminescence. It means the fish can make its own light.

Where Do These Fish Live?

Warming's lantern fish can be found all around the world. In the Atlantic Ocean, they live between 42° North and 40° South. In the Indian Ocean, they are found between 20° North and 42° South.

Another type of lantern fish, Ceratoscopelus townsendi, lives in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. But Warming's lantern fish is common in tropical and sub-tropical waters everywhere else. You can find many of them around South Africa and in the southern and eastern China Sea.

Daily Ocean Journey

These fish make a special journey every day. It's called diel vertical migration. This means they move up and down in the water column.

During the day, they stay very deep. They live in the ocean's mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones. These are dark parts of the ocean, between 700 and 1,500 m (2,300 and 4,900 ft) deep.

At night, they swim up to feed. They go to the epipelagic zone, which is closer to the surface. This zone is between 20 and 200 m (70 and 660 ft) deep. Most often, they are found between 50 to 100 m (160 to 330 ft) at night.

What Do Warming's Lantern Fish Eat?

Most of the time, Warming's lantern fish eat tiny ocean creatures called zooplankton. Zooplankton are like the small "bugs" of the ocean.

However, in one area called the North Pacific Gyre, scientists found something surprising. Warming's lantern fish were eating floating mats of Rhizosolenio. These are a type of tiny plant-like organism called diatoms.

Eating plants is unusual for deep-sea fish. This behavior is called herbivory. Because of this special diet, these fish have changed their guts over time. This helps them digest the plant material.

Are Warming's Lantern Fish in Danger?

This deep-sea fish is not caught by people for food. So, it doesn't face any special threats from fishing. It is common in all the places it lives.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) keeps track of how many animals are left in the world. They have listed Warming's lantern fish as being of "least concern". This means there are plenty of them, and they are not in danger of disappearing.