Depth
Electrona · Bony Fish

Electric Lantern Fish

Electrona risso

200 - 700 m
Depth Range
8 cm
Max Size
Mediterranean
Distribution
200 - 700 m
Depth Range
8 cm
Max Size
Deep Pelagic
Habitat
Planktivore
Diet
Schooling
Social
LC
IUCN Status
Rare
Sighting Likelihood
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassActinopterygii
GenusElectrona
Speciesrisso

Bony Fish

Identification & Biology

  • IdentificationSmall, deep-bodied fish with very large eyes and rows of bioluminescent photophores along the body. Dark blue-black back with silver flanks.
  • SizeUp to 8 cm total length, typically around 5 cm.
  • Social HabitHighly gregarious, forming massive deep-water schools that represent some of the largest biomass concentrations in the ocean.
  • HabitatMesopelagic zone. Undertakes daily vertical migrations, ascending toward the surface at night.
  • Depth200 to 700 m during the day, rising to the upper 100 m at night.
  • Feeds OnZooplankton, especially copepods, captured during nighttime feeding near the surface.
  • DistributionMediterranean Sea and adjacent eastern Atlantic.
  • DescriptionA tiny deep-water fish that participates in one of the planet's most spectacular daily events: the vertical migration of billions of mesopelagic organisms. By day it hides in the dark depths; at night it ascends hundreds of metres to feed on plankton.

Range

Habitat & Distribution

A mesopelagic species found from 200 to 700 m depth in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic. Performs diel vertical migration, ascending closer to the surface at night to feed and descending to deeper water during the day.

Where Malta divers have spotted this species

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Sightings are logged by divers using our What Did You See? dive-log tool. View the full live sightings map.

Detail

Preferred Environment

Open water in the mesopelagic twilight zone. Part of the deep scattering layer that migrates vertically each day. Occurs over deep ocean basins away from the continental shelf. Water temperatures at depth are typically 13 to 14 degrees Celsius.

Encounter Tips

Not accessible to divers. Known from deep-water trawl samples, acoustic surveys, and occasional specimens washed ashore or found in the stomachs of deep-diving predators.

Electric Lantern Fish species card

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Where to Encounter in Malta

Dive sites where Electrona risso may be encountered will be added as sighting data is collected.

IUCN Red ListLeast Concern

Conservation Status

This species is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Mediterranean populations face ongoing pressure from fishing activity, habitat degradation, and climate-driven changes.

Source: IUCN Red List
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