Scopelomorpha is the superorder of deep-sea bony fishes inhabiting seawater, comprising only one order, namely, Myctophiformes.
(Australian Antarctic Territory stamp)
The Myctophiformes order, in its turn, consists of 2 families, including the Myctophidae family, or lanternfishes. 16 representatives of this family are inhabitants of the Adriatic Sea. Species of the other family, Neoscopelidae, are not found in the Adriatic Sea.
The lanternfishes of decent size, which amount to about 250 species, comprise about 65% of the total fish biomass of the world’s oceans. The lanternfishes are an important food link of sea water predatory fishes.
All lanternfishes, except for one species, have luminous organs, that is, photophores.
Some species arrange schools, which make it difficult to determine the depth using an echo sounder, creating a “false bottom” effect on the device screen.