Taxonomy Tournament: Fish

Lampriformes. This order is made up of opahs (also known as moonfish or sunfish) and their relatives, such as oarfish, crestfishes, and ribbonfishes

Stomiiformes. This order is made up of deep-sea fishes. It includes dragonfishes, loosejaws, viperfishes, and bristlemouths, the most populated family of vertebrates, with population numbering in the hundreds of trillions to quadrillions.

Justice for the bristlemouths

You're so right. Let's give them some justice!

Fish fact #514

Bristlemouths (family Gonostomatidae)!

They're a family of protandrous hermaphrodites, which means they all start out as male and then may become female! Females tend to be larger, though even then it's not really saying much; bristlemouths are only 7.5 cm (3 inches) on average.

Bonapartia fish By: P. M. David From: Deep Oceans 1971

Got any cool facts about common fish?

YES I DO!!!

the most common fish in the ocean is the bristle mouth — its really small about the same size as a minnow. theyre named for their bristle shaped teeth. they are also protoandrous which means they begin male and then become female throughout their life cycle!!

they are also bioluminescent and use it to communicate sort of like “[dancing] or wearing bright colors at the nightclub” - ZME Science

they look pretty cool for a really common fish!!

Out this week: Bristlemouth: Cove Horror #1 (IPI Comics, $4.99): 

Hayden Fryer writes and draws this horror miniseries about a cancer survivor on a weekend escape who ends up battling not only her own demons, but a literal one in the forest around her retreat.

See what else is arriving in comic shops this week.

hello! if you were a sea creature what creature would you be?

IDEALLY A COOL WHALE OR THE HUMBLE MOLA-MOLA BUT MORE THAN LIKELY SOME KIND OF BRISTLEMOUTH. STATISTICALLY IT'S LOOKING BRISTLEMOUTH. AND THAT'S THE FACTS

Justice for the bristlemouths

I may not be able to serve justice but a nice dinner might do?

44. Random Fact About Anything!

So hard to make sound bites outta these but I gotta bc brain

The deep sea scattering layer is a globally spanning continuous school of fish, in the pelagic zone, composed of bristlemouths and lanternfish. In total, this would mean they number in the trillions or even low quadrillions, which would make them the most numerous vertebrates on earth bar none. And is a fucked up scale that's nearly impossible to comprehend.

there's plenty of other fish in the sea, but a lot of them will probably be bristlemouths.

the reason i was on the bristlemouth wikipedia page is because they’re apparently the most populous vertebrates on earth. scary

Taxonomy Tournament: Fish

Stomiiformes. This order is made up of deep-sea fishes. It includes dragonfishes, loosejaws, viperfishes, and bristlemouths, the most populated family of vertebrates, with population numbering in the hundreds of trillions to quadrillions.

Aulopiformes. This order is made up of lizardfishes, many of which are deep-sea. Some are hermaphroditic with the ability to self-fertilise.

Daily fish fact #449

Bristlemouths!

They get their name from their sharp and pointy bristle-like teeth! Though they live in the deep sea, they have an organ that allows them to sense ambient light, which allows them to have a circadian rhythm and exhibit seasonal behaviour!

Bristlemouths By: Paul A. Zahl From: Abyss: The Deep Sea and the Creatures that Live in It 1971

Bristlemouth fish are , according to several sources, the most abundant vertebrates in the world, with estimates of members of the genus Cyclothone ranging from placing their numbers in the trillions to as much as a quadrillion or even more. Even the lowest estimates would outmatch the numbers of all mammals and birds combined, the highest numbers would make them a majority of all vertebrate life.

Another interesting fact about them is that bristlemouths are protandrous, meaning all individuals begin life as males and some will later become females. Because bristlemouth fish make up such a massive portion of the vertebrate lives, its entirely possible to conjecture that in terms of sheer numbers, most vertebrate females are "born male".

31.57 billion miles of fish is the distance from the sun to PLUTO, TEN TIMES OVER

that’s how many bristlemouths there are.

Science: “Meet the most numerous vertebrate on Earth! :)”

Me: “Thanks, I hate it.”