Leptostomias Gilbert, 1905
Body long, slender, its depth more than 10 times in SL. Head with short, blunt snout; lower jaw not longer than upper jaw, not curved strongly upward; barbel about 1/3 of SL in small fish, increasing to longer than fish in large specimens, its terminal end with a swelling of variable length, with os without filaments. Pectoral finrays 9-11, all about equal in length, unbranched distally, and without lumps of luminous material; pelvic fins low on body, their insertions close together near mid-ventral line; bases of dorsal and anal fins about equally long, their origins approximately opposed; no dorsal adipose fin. Photophores in ventral row between pectoral and pelvic fin insertions (PV) 40-47; no pale loop or line on flanks; post-orbital luminous organ small and roundish, less than half eye diameter; no pre-orbital or sub-orbital organs; no large luminous patches on head behind eye.
See family for biology, etc.
Species uncertain, 14 described, but revision needed; in Clofnam area 3 recognized here.
Recent revisions: Regan and Trewavas (1930), Morrow and Gibbs (1964), neither satisfactory.
Species of this genus in the program:
Leptostomias gladiator
Leptostomias haplocaulus
Leptostomias longibarba