Bigscale deepsea smelt
Melanolagus bericoides (Borodin, 1929)
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
Melanolagus bericoides (the bigscale deep-sea smelt) is a species of deep-sea smelt, found in oceans such as the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific. It is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical oceans to a depth of 1,700 m (5,600 ft), and the species grows to a length of 20 cm (7.9 in). Its original name is Scopelus bericoides Borodin 1929 and it belongs to the family Melanolagus Kobyliansky, 1986.
Wikipedia contributors, Melanolagus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:10:20.282803+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Melanolagus bericoides (Borodin, 1929)
- Name authority
- (Borodin, 1929)
- Common name
- Bigscale deepsea smelt
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Argentiniformes
- Family
- Bathylagidae
- Genus
- Melanolagus
- 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
- orderArgentiniformes
- familyBathylagidae Gill, 1884
- genusMelanolagus Kobyliansky, 1986
- speciesMelanolagus bericoides (Borodin, 1929)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Scopelus bericoides Borodin, 1929 Borodin, 1929 | synonym |
| Bathylagus microcephalus Norman, 1930 Norman, 1930 | synonym |
| Melamphaes bericoides (Borodin, 1929) (Borodin, 1929) | synonym |
| Bathylagus bericoides (Borodin, 1929) (Borodin, 1929) | 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=126721 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:3Z8PF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.