Monacoa is a genus of fish in the family Opisthoproctidae[1] found in Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.[2] They are also known as long-nosed mirrorbellies[2] or simply mirrorbellies, in reference to the bioluminescent organ in their intestines.[3] The largest species, Monacoa grimaldii, can grow to 8 cm (3.1 in) standard length.[4]

Monacoa
Monacoa grimaldii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Argentiniformes
Family: Opisthoproctidae
Genus: Monacoa
Whitley, 1943
Type species
Opisthoproctus grimaldii
Zugmayer, 1911

Species

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There are currently 3 recognized species in this genus:[4]

Until 2016, it was believed there was a single species of Monacoa, but in 2016 it was determined that there are actually 3 distinct species. The M. griseus and M. niger are distinct from the M. grimaldii because of their differences in pigmentation. An examination of their complete mitochondrial genomes further suggests the species are distinct.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Monacoa". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e Poulsen, Jan Yde; Sado, Tetsuya; Hahn, Christoph; Byrkjedal, Ingvar; Moku, Masatoshi & Miya, Masaki (2016). "Preservation obscures pelagic deep-sea fish diversity: doubling the number of sole-bearing opisthoproctids and resurrection of the genus Monacoa (Opisthoproctidae, Argentiniformes)". PLOS ONE. 11 (8): e0159762. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0159762. PMC 4980007. PMID 27508419.
  3. ^ Robin Meadows (August 10, 2016). "Two new species of deep-sea fish may communicate with light shining from their bellies]". PLOS RESEARCH NEWS. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Monacoa". FishBase. February 2022 version.