Concept

Lampriformes

Summary
Lampriformes 'læmprᵻfɔːrmiːz is an order of ray-finned fish. Members are collectively called lamprids (which is more properly used for the Lampridae) or lampriforms, and unite such open-ocean and partially deep-sea Teleostei as the crestfishes, oarfish, opahs, and ribbonfishes. A synonym for this order is Allotriognathi, while an often-seen, but apparently incorrect, spelling variant is Lampridiformes. They contain seven extant families which are generally small but highly distinct, and a mere 12 lampriform genera with some 20 species altogether are recognized. The scientific name literally means "shaped (like the) bright (one)", as "lampr-", meaning bright, comes from lampris, the generic name for the opah. In contrast, most other living lampriforms are actually ribbon-like and not very similar to the disc-shaped opahs in habitus. They are, however, quite distinctly united by their anatomy, and the family's phylogeny, as well as the most ancient fossils of this order suggest the original lampriform was rather "opah-shaped". The scientific name is a combination of Lampris (the type genus) + the standard fish order suffix "-formes". It ultimately derives from Ancient Greek lamprós (λαμπρός, "bright") + Latin forma ("external form"), the former in reference to brilliant coloration of opahs. These oceanic fishes are pelagic feeders that stay well above the sea floor, and normally occur in waters 100–1000 m deep. They are typically brightly coloured as adults, often with brilliant crimson fins. Lampriforms have highly variable body forms, but they are generally laterally compressed. Some are rounded in lateral view, while others are very elongated. The former are termed bathysomes—"deep-bodies", from Ancient Greek bathýs (βᾶθύς) "deep" + sōma (σῶμα) "body"—and the latter taeniosomes—"ribbon-bodies", Greek tainía (ταινία) "ribbon". They vary greatly in size, too, ranging from less than in the sailfin moonfishes (Veliferidae) to Regalecus glesne, the longest of all living bony fishes, which may reach in length.
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