scaleless black dragonfish
Melanostomias bartonbeani Parr, 1927
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.
The head of a preserved specimen of Melanostomias bartonbeani (Scaleless black dragonfish). RMNH.PISC.35828_3 from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center.
Naturalis Biodiversity Center · CC0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The scaleless black dragonfish (Melanostomias bartonbeani) also known as the scaleless dragonfish is a species of ray-finned fish from the family Stomiidae. It's native to the Eastern, Western and Northwest Atlantic, as well as the Indian and Pacific oceans. The species is mesopelagic. It can be found in depths of 25 to 2,000 m (82 to 6,562 ft).
Wikipedia contributors, Scaleless black dragonfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:43:41.685418+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Melanostomias bartonbeani Parr, 1927
- Name authority
- Parr, 1927
- Common name
- scaleless black dragonfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Stomiiformes
- Family
- Stomiidae
- Genus
- Melanostomias
- 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
- familyStomiidae Bleeker, 1859
- subfamilyMelanostomiinae Parr, 1927
- genusMelanostomias Brauer, 1902
- speciesMelanostomias bartonbeani Parr, 1927
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Melanostomias. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Melanostomias biseriatus Regan & Trewavas, 1930 | StomiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanostomias macrophotus Regan & Trewavas, 1930 | StomiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanostomias niger Gilchrist & von Bonde, 1924 | StomiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Three-ray dragonfishMelanostomias pauciradius Matsubara, 1938 | StomiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanostomias melanops Brauer, 1902 | StomiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanostomias globulifer Fowler, 1934 | StomiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanostomias margaritifer Regan & Trewavas, 1930 | StomiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanostomias melanopogon Regan & Trewavas, 1930 | StomiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanostomias nigroaxialis Parin & Pokhil'skaya, 1978 | StomiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanostomias paucilaternatus Parin & Pokhil'skaya, 1978 | StomiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanostomias pollicifer Parin & Pokhil'skaya, 1978 | StomiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanostomias stewarti Fowler, 1934 | StomiidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Melanostomias bulbosus Beebe, 1933 Beebe, 1933 | synonym |
| Melanostomias spilorhynchus Regan & Trewavas, 1930 Regan & Trewavas, 1930 | 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.
- Parr, A. E. (1927). The Stomiatoid fishes of the suborder Gymnophotodermi (Astronesthidae, Melanostomiatidae, Idiacanthidae) with a complete review of the species. (Scientific results of the third oceanographic expedition of the “Pawnee” 1927.). Bulletin of the Bingham Oceanographic Collection Yale University, v. 3 (art. 2): 1–123. 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.
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:3ZBJT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.