Lamprididae

views updated

Lamprididae (opah, moonfish; subclass Actinopterygii, order Lampridiformes) A monospecific family (Lampris guttatus) comprising a species of large (1.8 m) marine fish that have a greatly compressed, and oval or almost round body, a small mouth, long first dorsal and pelvic fins, and a narrow tail ending in a forked tail fin. Despite the attention it draws because of its size and shape, little is known about its biology. It is distributed world-wide.