Muller's pearlsides
Maurolicus muelleri (Gmelin, 1789)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Maurolicus muelleri, commonly referred to as Mueller's pearlside, Mueller's bristle-mouth fish (not to be confused with the Gonostomatidae), or the silvery lightfish (not to be confused with the Phosichthyidae), is a marine hatchetfish in the genus Maurolicus, found in deep tropical, subtropical and temperate waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, from the surface to depths of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). It can grow to a maximum total length of 8 centimetres (3.1 in).
Wikipedia contributors, Mueller's pearlside; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:41:12.863226+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Maurolicus muelleri (Gmelin, 1789)
- Name authority
- (Gmelin, 1789)
- Common name
- Muller's pearlsides
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Stomiiformes
- Family
- Sternoptychidae
- Genus
- Maurolicus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderStomiiformes
- familySternoptychidae Duméril, 1805
- subfamilyMaurolicinae Gill, 1885
- genusMaurolicus Cocco, 1838
- speciesMaurolicus muelleri (Gmelin, 1789)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Maurolicus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Maurolicus breviculus Parin & Kobyliansky, 1993 | SternoptychidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Maurolicus imperatorius Parin & Kobyliansky, 1993 | SternoptychidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Maurolicus inventionis Parin & Kobyliansky, 1993 | SternoptychidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Maurolicus javanicus Parin & Kobyliansky, 1993 | SternoptychidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Maurolicus mucronatus Klunzinger, 1871 | SternoptychidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Maurolicus rudjakovi Parin & Kobyliansky, 1993 | SternoptychidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Maurolicus amethystinopunctatus Cocco, 1838 | SternoptychidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Maurolicus australis Hector, 1875 | SternoptychidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| North Pacific lightfishMaurolicus japonicus Ishikawa, 1915 | SternoptychidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Maurolicus kornilovorum Parin & Kobyliansky, 1993 | SternoptychidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Maurolicus parvipinnis Vaillant, 1888 | SternoptychidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Maurolicus stehmanni Parin & Kobyliansky, 1993 | SternoptychidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Maurolicus mülleri (Gmelin, 1789) (Gmelin, 1789) | synonym |
| Maurolicus pennanti (Walbaum, 1792) (Walbaum, 1792) | synonym |
| Scopelus borealis Nilsson, 1832 Nilsson, 1832 | synonym |
| Scopelus maurolici Valenciennes, 1850 Valenciennes, 1850 | synonym |
| Salmo muelleri Gmelin, 1789 Gmelin, 1789 | synonym |
| Mauroluccius mulleri (Gmelin, 1789) (Gmelin, 1789) | synonym |
| Scopelus humboldtii Yarrel, 1836 Yarrel, 1836 | synonym |
| Benthosema muelleri (Gmelin, 1789) (Gmelin, 1789) | synonym |
| Argentina pennanti Walbaum, 1792 Walbaum, 1792 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=127312 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3YG5C. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.