Panama Lanternfish, Benthosema panamense

Panama Lanternfish, Benthosema panamense. Fish collected within the Puerto Los Cabos Marina, Baja California Sur, April 2009. Length: 6.0 cm (2.3 inches). Catch courtesy of Eric Brictson, Gordo Bank Pangas, La Playita, Baja California Sur. Identification courtesy of H.J. Walker, Jr., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.

Panama Lanternfish, Benthosema panamense. Fish provided by a Star-studded Grouper, Hyporthodus niphobles, caught out of 90 m (300-foot) water off Loreto, Baja California Sur, May 2017. Length: 6.2 cm (2.4 inches).

The Panama Lanternfish, Benthosema panamense, is a member of the Lanternfish or Myctophidae Family, that is also known as the Lamp Fish, and is known in Mexico as known collectively as linternilla panameña. Globally, there are five species in the genus Benthosema, of which one is found in Mexican waters, this species from the Pacific Ocean.

The Panama Lanternfish has a long rectangular body that tapers toward the posterior end. They are reddish-brown with silvery patches. Their anal, caudal, and dorsal fins are transparent. Their head has a very short blocky snout, large eyes, and a large mouth that extends well past the eyes. They have a limited number of randomly positioned photophores on their body and a prominent row of photophores ventrally. Their anal fin has 19 to 22 rays and their dorsal fin has 12 to 14 rays. They have no spines.

The Panama Lanternfish are an epipelagic and mesopelagic species found in dense aggregations near the coast at night from the surface to depths up to 1,000 m (3,300 feet). They reach a maximum 5.5 cm (2.2 inches) in length. They migrate vertically toward the surface at night to feed on zooplankton, then retreat toward the bottom at night to avoid predation. They can be attracted by lights at night and collected with dip nets. They are heavily preyed upon by numerous marine fish and mammals. Reproduction is oviparous with pelagic planktonic eggs and larvae. Although common, the Panama Lanternfish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Panama Langternfish is a resident of the Pacific but has a limited distribution being found from Guerrero Negro, Baja California, southward along the central and southwest coasts of Baja, in the lower two-thirds of the Sea of Cortez, and along the west coast of the mainland south to Guatemala.

From a conservation perspective the Panama Lanternfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are small in stature, seldom seen by humans and of limited interest to most.