Family Bathylagidae

Common names:  Deep-sea smelts and owlfishes

Distribution:  Worldwide in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones.

General description and features:  Typically small fishes with very large eyes and scales.  Most species have very flacid bodies and the scales come off very easily in trawls and nets.  

Feeding:  Many feed on small crustaceans some species are thought to feed on gelatinous animals such as small medusa.

Reproduction and life history: 

The owlfish, Bathylagus pacificus, photographed in Monterey Bay is named for its enormous eyes. 

Bathylagus wesethi at 600 meters in Monterey Bay.