Three-ray dragonfish
Melanostomias pauciradius Matsubara, 1938
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
Melanostomias pauciradius, the three-ray dragonfish, is a species of barbeled dragonfish native to the Western Pacific. It has 18 to 20 anal soft rays, and 15 to 16 dorsal soft rays.
Wikipedia contributors, Melanostomias pauciradius; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:47:31.862321+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Melanostomias pauciradius Matsubara, 1938
- Name authority
- Matsubara, 1938
- Common name
- Three-ray 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 pauciradius Matsubara, 1938
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 |
|---|---|---|
| scaleless black dragonfishMelanostomias bartonbeani Parr, 1927 | StomiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| 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 |
| 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 |
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.
- Matsubara, K. (1938). Studies on the deep-sea fishes of Japan. VI. On some stomiatoid fishes from Kumano-Nada. Journal of the Imperial Fisheries Institute, 33 (1): 37–52. 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:3ZBKK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.