Smallest vertebrate (Marine)
Last updated: April 10, 2020 at 14:09 pm
Angler fish (Photocorynus spiniceps). A mature male specimen collected at a depth of 1,425 m (4,675 ft) measured only 6.1 mm (0.24 in). Females are significantly larger reaching lengths up to 50.5 millimetres (2 inches). The smaller male spends its life latched on to its female counterpart. Much of its body consists of testes.
Pietsch, T. W., 2005, Dimorphism, parasitism and sex revisited: modes of reproduction among deep sea ceratoid angler fishes (Teleostei: Lophiiformes) Ichthyological Research. 52: 207-236.
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Jeffrey Gallant is the Editor-in-Chief and Records Keeper of the Diving Almanac. He is also a contributing editor of DIVER Magazine, and the scientific director of the Greenland Shark and Elasmobranch Education and Research Group (GEERG). Jeffrey started diving in 1982.
