https://doi.org/10.6075/J0BZ64DH https://calcofi.io/datasets/sio_mesopelagic-fish/ Mesopelagic Fish J. Anthony Koslow Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego 2026-09-06 eng Species-resolved mesopelagic fish counts (90 named species + 1 unidentified-fish catch-all) from MOHT (Matsuda-Oozeki-Hu Trawl) micronekton net tows, 7 CalCOFI cruises 2010-2012, all on RV New Horizon (NODC 32NM). Larval-fish counts in the same source file are a separate table, not included here. EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES > FISH EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES > FISH > RAY-FINNED FISHES GCMD Science Keywords Mesopelagic Fish abundance count Fish Eggs & Larvae Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC-BY-4.0 https://calcofi.io/datasets/sio_mesopelagic-fish/ 29.8–35.0°N, 124.3–117.4°W -124.2861 -117.3567 34.956 29.8062 2010 2012 Mesopelagic Fish species Alepocephalus tenebrosus California slickhead 272849 species Arctozenus risso Ribbon barracudina 126352 species Argyropelecus affinis Slender hatchetfish 127307 species Argyropelecus hemigymnus Spurred hatchetfish 127309 species Argyropelecus lychnus Tropical hatchetfish 158836 species Argyropelecus sladeni Lowcrest hatchetfish 158837 species Aristostomias scintillans Shiny loosejaw 275007 species Astronesthes gemmifer snaggletooth 127322 species Avocettina infans Blackline snipe eel 126304 genus Bathophilus Dragonfish 126203 species Bathophilus flemingi Highfin dragonfish 275046 family Bathylagidae Blacksmelts 125509 species Bathylagoides wesethi Snubnose blacksmelt 712444 species Bathylagus pacificus Pacific blacksmelt 272919 species Bathysphyraenops simplex Flatbrow basslet 159845 species Benthalbella dentata Northern pearleye 254572 species Bolinichthys longipes Popeye lampfish 272650 species Ceratoscopelus townsendi Dogtooth lampfish 272656 species Chauliodus macouni Pacific viperfish 275055 species Chiasmodon niger black swallower 126840 species Chilara taylori Spotted cusk-eel 280146 species Cololabis saira Pacific saury 280366 genus Cyclothone 126187 species Cyclothone acclinidens Benttooth bristlemouth 127282 species Cyclothone atraria Black bristlemouth 274943 species Cyclothone pseudopallida Slender bristlemouth 127289 species Cyclothone signata Showy bristlemouth 154831 species Danaphos oculatus Bottlelight 280483 species Diaphus anderseni Andersen's lantern fish 272657 species Diaphus kuroshio Kuroshio headlightfish 272677 species Diaphus theta California headlightfish 272694 species Diogenichthys atlanticus Longfin lanternfish 126599 species Electrona risso Chubby flashlightfish 126600 species Holtbyrnia latifrons Streaklight tubeshoulder 272944 species Hygophum proximum Firefly lanternfish 217700 species Hygophum reinhardtii Slender lanternfish 126604 species Ichthyococcus irregularis Bulldog lightfish 274954 species Icichthys lockingtoni Medusafish 279354 species Idiacanthus antrostomus Pacific blackdragon 275151 species Lampadena urophaos Sunbeam lampfish 126609 genus Lampanyctus 125825 species Lampanyctus hawaiiensis 1525480 species Lampanyctus regalis Pinpoint lampfish 301545 species Lampanyctus ritteri Broadfin lampfish 301548 species Lampanyctus tenuiformis Slender lanternfish 158898 species Lestidiops ringens Slender barracudina 272096 species Leuroglossus stilbius California smoothtongue 313514 species Lipolagus ochotensis Popeye blacksmelt 281374 species Loweina rara Dwarf lanternfish 126625 genus Melamphaes 126181 species Melamphaes lugubris Highsnout bigscale 274932 species Melamphaes parvus Little bigscale 274935 species Melanostigma pammelas Midwater eelpout 274134 species Microstoma microstoma slender argentine 126724 family Myctophidae Lanternfishes 125498 species Myctophum nitidulum Pearly lanternfish 126626 species Nansenia crassa Stout argentine 272927 species Nemichthys scolopaceus Brown snipe eel 126306 species Notolychnus valdiviae Topside lampfish 126629 species Notoscopelus resplendens Patchwork lampfish 158916 species Parvilux ingens Giant lampfish 282178 family Phosichthyidae Lightfishes 125602 species Photonectes margarita Sooty dragonfish 127370 species Protomyctophum crockeri California flashlightfish 272731 species Sagamichthys abei Shining tubeshoulder 234630 species Scopelarchus analis Blackbelly pearleye 126367 species Scopeloberyx malayanus 390569 species Scopelogadus mizolepis soft melamphid 127279 species Scopelosaurus harryi scaly wearyfish 272082 species Sigmops ebelingi Ebeling's fangjaw 279335 species Stenobrachius leucopsarus Northern lampfish 254363 species Stenobrachius nannochir Garnet lampfish 254364 genus Sternoptyx Dollar hatchetfishes 126199 species Sternoptyx diaphana Longspine hatchetfish 127314 species Sternoptyx obscura Dusky hatchetfish 275004 species Stomias atriventer Blackbelly dragonfish 275178 family Stomiidae Dragonfishes 125604 species Symbolophorus californiensis California lanternfish 272733 genus Syngnathus seaweed pipefishes 126227 species Syngnathus californiensis Kelp pipefish 275218 species Syngnathus exilis Barcheek pipefish 275223 species Tactostoma macropus Longfin dragonfish 282922 species Tarletonbeania crenularis Blue lanternfish 282927 species Tetragonurus cuvieri Smalleye squaretail 127080 species Triphoturus mexicanus Mexican lampfish 278566 species Vinciguerria lucetia Panama lightfish 274961 species Vinciguerria poweriae Highseas lightfish 127304 CalCOFI data@calcofi.io sample One row per physical sampling event at its native grain (site, tow, net, cast, bottle, underway, transect, region pool). An adjacency list: parent_sample_key points at the containing event and root_sample_key at the top of the chain, so counting distinct events at any level is a single GROUP BY. sample_key Sample Key Globally unique event key, namespaced dataset_key:sample_type:id so the same integer id in two datasets — or at two event levels in one dataset — never collides. VARCHAR Globally unique event key, namespaced dataset_key:sample_type:id so the same integer id in two datasets — or at two event levels in one dataset — never collides. sample_type Sample Type Event grain: site, tow, net, cast, bottle, underway, transect or region_pool. VARCHAR Event grain: site, tow, net, cast, bottle, underway, transect or region_pool. parent_sample_key Parent Sample Key The containing event (net → tow → site; bottle → cast). NULL at the top of the chain. Flat adjacency list: attributes are not inherited. VARCHAR The containing event (net → tow → site; bottle → cast). NULL at the top of the chain. Flat adjacency list: attributes are not inherited. root_sample_key Root Sample Key Top of this event's containment chain; equals sample_key for single-level datasets. Use count(DISTINCT root_sample_key) to count stations/casts irrespective of grain. VARCHAR Top of this event's containment chain; equals sample_key for single-level datasets. Use count(DISTINCT root_sample_key) to count stations/casts irrespective of grain. dataset_key Dataset Key Provenance stamp: provider_dataset. VARCHAR Provenance stamp: provider_dataset. grid_key Grid Key CalCOFI station grid cell. NULL where the dataset has no station assignment (region-pooled phytoplankton). VARCHAR CalCOFI station grid cell. NULL where the dataset has no station assignment (region-pooled phytoplankton). site_key Site Key CalCOFI station natural key as the source records it (line/station, e.g. 090.0 060.0). Present on 13 of the 18 source event tables, so it is carried on the event dimension rather than lost to consolidation; grid_key is the derived grid cell, this is the source's own station id. VARCHAR CalCOFI station natural key as the source records it (line/station, e.g. 090.0 060.0). Present on 13 of the 18 source event tables, so it is carried on the event dimension rather than lost to consolidation; grid_key is the derived grid cell, this is the source's own station id. cruise_key Cruise Key CalCOFI cruise natural key YYYY-MM-NODC. VARCHAR CalCOFI cruise natural key YYYY-MM-NODC. order_occ Order of Occupation Order in which the station was occupied on the cruise. Source spelling varies (order_occ, ord_occ) and CTD stores it as text; normalised to an integer here. INTEGER dimensionless integer latitude Latitude Event latitude (WGS84). DOUBLE degree real longitude Longitude Event longitude (WGS84). DOUBLE degree real datetime Datetime Event start time (UTC). TIMESTAMP YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss depth_min_m Depth Min Shallowest depth sampled by this event. DOUBLE meter real depth_max_m Depth Max Deepest depth sampled by this event. DOUBLE meter real tow_type Tow Type Net gear code where the dataset records one (C1/CB/CV/PV oblique or vertical, MT manta); NULL for gears and datasets without one. Needed to compute gear-appropriate CPUE. VARCHAR Net gear code where the dataset records one (C1/CB/CV/PV oblique or vertical, MT manta); NULL for gears and datasets without one. Needed to compute gear-appropriate CPUE. data_stage Data Stage The source's own processing state for this event: final (post-cruise calibrations applied) or preliminary (not for publication — the source warns that oxygen, nitrate and chlorophyll may change significantly once calibrated). Populated by calcofi_ctd-cast; NULL where the dataset draws no such distinction, which is not a claim that the data are final. VARCHAR The source's own processing state for this event: final (post-cruise calibrations applied) or preliminary (not for publication — the source warns that oxygen, nitrate and chlorophyll may change significantly once calibrated). Populated by calcofi_ctd-cast; NULL where the dataset draws no such distinction, which is not a claim that the data are final. geom Geometry Point geometry minted from longitude/latitude (OGC:CRS84). GEOMETRY('EPSG:4326') Point geometry minted from longitude/latitude (OGC:CRS84). source_uuid Source Uuid Source Uuid UUID Source Uuid seafloor_depth_m seafloor_depth_m DOUBLE dimensionless real station_uuid station_uuid UUID station_uuid station_uuid_method station_uuid_method VARCHAR station_uuid_method obs The occurrence-headline long table: one scalar measurement per row, environmental (realm = 'env') and biological (realm = 'bio') together. Biological taxon is the global taxon_key; sub-occurrence detail (length/stage bins, behavior) lives in obs_attribute, and event-level effort in sample_measurement. data_0.parquet 13267 362dffe0a2ea2ed7235542de183b01887e52a8fb75f89afd55c0c2316a0df68e Apache Parquet https://storage.googleapis.com/calcofi-db/ducklake/tables/obs/dataset_key=sio_mesopelagic-fish/543665670cf8e0c024291c1b/data_0.parquet obs_id Observation ID Surrogate key, renumbered globally when the release concatenates the per-dataset shards. BIGINT dimensionless integer realm Realm env for physical/chemical measurements, bio for organism observations. VARCHAR env for physical/chemical measurements, bio for organism observations. dataset_key Dataset Key Provenance stamp: provider_dataset. VARCHAR Provenance stamp: provider_dataset. sample_key Sample Key The sampling event this observation came from; joins sample. VARCHAR The sampling event this observation came from; joins sample. grid_key Grid Key CalCOFI station grid cell, denormalized from sample so rollups need no join. NULL for region-pooled data. VARCHAR CalCOFI station grid cell, denormalized from sample so rollups need no join. NULL for region-pooled data. cruise_key Cruise Key Cruise, denormalized from sample so rollups need no join. VARCHAR Cruise, denormalized from sample so rollups need no join. latitude Latitude Observation latitude (WGS84). DOUBLE degree real longitude Longitude Observation longitude (WGS84). DOUBLE degree real datetime Datetime Observation time (UTC). NULL for region-pooled data with no event time. TIMESTAMP YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss depth_min_m Depth Min Shallowest depth this observation represents. DOUBLE meter real depth_max_m Depth Max Deepest depth this observation represents; equal to depth_min_m for point measurements (bottle, CTD scan). DOUBLE meter real taxon_key Taxon Key Global taxon key, worms:<AphiaID> or itis:<TSN> for birds. NULL for env rows. Joins taxon. VARCHAR Global taxon key, worms:<AphiaID> or itis:<TSN> for birds. NULL for env rows. Joins taxon. life_stage Life Stage Life stage where the source resolves one (larva, adult, juvenile, egg, phyllosoma). VARCHAR Life stage where the source resolves one (larva, adult, juvenile, egg, phyllosoma). measurement_type Measurement Type Measured quantity; joins the measurement_type vocabulary. VARCHAR Measured quantity; joins the measurement_type vocabulary. measurement_value Measurement Value The measured value, in the units measurement_type declares. DOUBLE dimensionless real measurement_qual Measurement Qualifier Source quality flag, verbatim. VARCHAR Source quality flag, verbatim. measurement_prec Measurement Precision Source-reported precision where available. DOUBLE dimensionless real hex_id Hex ID H3 cell at resolution 10, stored as UBIGINT. Aggregate coarser at query time with h3_cell_to_parent(hex_id, res) — there is no per-resolution column ladder. UBIGINT dimensionless whole taxon Taxonomic hierarchy for species via WoRMS and ITIS authorities (built from spp.duckdb via recursive CTEs) taxon_key Taxon Key Global taxon key: lowercase authority prefix plus id, worms:127023 or itis:176754. VARCHAR Global taxon key: lowercase authority prefix plus id, worms:127023 or itis:176754. worms_id WoRMS ID WoRMS AphiaID. INTEGER dimensionless integer itis_id ITIS ID ITIS Taxonomic Serial Number. INTEGER dimensionless integer gbif_id GBIF ID GBIF backbone taxon key. INTEGER dimensionless integer ncbi_id NCBI ID NCBI Taxonomy id. INTEGER dimensionless integer inat_id iNaturalist ID iNaturalist taxon id. INTEGER dimensionless integer scientific_name Scientific Name Accepted scientific name. VARCHAR Accepted scientific name. common_name Common Name Common name where one is recorded. VARCHAR Common name where one is recorded. rank Rank Taxonomic rank. VARCHAR Taxonomic rank. rank_order Rank Order Ordinal for sorting ranks from kingdom down. INTEGER dimensionless integer taxonomic_status Taxonomic Status Status as fetched from the keying authority (accepted, unaccepted, superseded combination, ...). Read it with status_checked — before v2026.08.05 this column was the literal string "accepted" on every row, stamped rather than fetched. VARCHAR Status as fetched from the keying authority (accepted, unaccepted, superseded combination, ...). Read it with status_checked — before v2026.08.05 this column was the literal string "accepted" on every row, stamped rather than fetched. status_checked Status Checked Date taxonomic_status was last confirmed against the authority. A status with no check date is not a fact. VARCHAR Date taxonomic_status was last confirmed against the authority. A status with no check date is not a fact. parent_taxon_key Parent Taxon Key Lineage parent; walk this to expand a taxon to its descendants. VARCHAR Lineage parent; walk this to expand a taxon to its descendants. kingdom Kingdom Kingdom. VARCHAR Kingdom. phylum Phylum Phylum. VARCHAR Phylum. class Class Class. VARCHAR Class. order_taxon Order Order (named order_taxon because order is a SQL keyword). VARCHAR Order (named order_taxon because order is a SQL keyword). family Family Family. VARCHAR Family. notes Notes Append-only provenance log, one datestamped line per entry: how each id was resolved and any re-key onto an authority-accepted id (e.g. itis:174553 Puffinus griseus -> itis:1255050 Ardenna grisea). The dataset's own original code and name stay in dataset_taxon. VARCHAR Append-only provenance log, one datestamped line per entry: how each id was resolved and any re-key onto an authority-accepted id (e.g. itis:174553 Puffinus griseus -> itis:1255050 Ardenna grisea). The dataset's own original code and name stay in dataset_taxon. dataset_taxon Crosswalk from each dataset's own taxon vocabulary to the global taxon_key. obs resolves its taxon by joining this on (dataset_key, ds_taxa_code), so a dataset can keep its local codes without leaking them into the shared model. ds_taxon_key Dataset Taxon Key Key of this crosswalk row, <dataset-or-known-list>:<local code>. VARCHAR Key of this crosswalk row, <dataset-or-known-list>:<local code>. dataset_key Dataset Key The dataset whose vocabulary this row belongs to. VARCHAR The dataset whose vocabulary this row belongs to. taxon_key Taxon Key The global taxon it resolves to; joins taxon. VARCHAR The global taxon it resolves to; joins taxon. ds_scientific_name Dataset Scientific Name Scientific name as the source dataset spells it. VARCHAR Scientific name as the source dataset spells it. ds_common_name Dataset Common Name Common name as the source dataset spells it. VARCHAR Common name as the source dataset spells it. ds_taxa_code Dataset Taxa Code The dataset's own code, as stored on its measurement rows. VARCHAR The dataset's own code, as stored on its measurement rows. ds_source_json Ds Source Json Ds Source Json VARCHAR Ds Source Json measurement_type measurement_type Measurement Type Measurement Type VARCHAR Measurement Type description Description Description VARCHAR Description units Units Units VARCHAR Units valid_min Valid Min Valid Min DOUBLE dimensionless real valid_max Valid Max Valid Max DOUBLE dimensionless real valid_depth_min_m Valid Depth Min M Valid Depth Min M DOUBLE dimensionless real valid_depth_max_m Valid Depth Max M Valid Depth Max M DOUBLE dimensionless real derivation Derivation Derivation VARCHAR Derivation is_canonical Is Canonical Is Canonical BOOLEAN Is Canonical _source_column Source Column Source Column VARCHAR Source Column _source_table Source Table Source Table VARCHAR Source Table _source_datasets Source Datasets Source Datasets VARCHAR Source Datasets _qual_column Qual Column Qual Column VARCHAR Qual Column _prec_column Prec Column Prec Column VARCHAR Prec Column grain Grain Grain VARCHAR Grain denominator Denominator Denominator VARCHAR Denominator category Category Category VARCHAR Category variable Variable Variable VARCHAR Variable nerc_p01 Nerc P01 Nerc P01 VARCHAR Nerc P01 units_nerc_p06 Units Nerc P06 Units Nerc P06 VARCHAR Units Nerc P06 provider Provider Provider VARCHAR Provider dataset Dataset Dataset VARCHAR Dataset Koslow, J. Anthony (2016). CalCOFI Trawl Data. In California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI): Acoustic and Trawl Data. UC San Diego Library Digital Collections. https://doi.org/10.6075/J0BZ64DH sio_mesopelagic-fish https://calcofi.io/datasets/sio_mesopelagic-fish/ v2026.09.06 CalCOFI (2026). CalCOFI Integrated Database, release v2026.09.06 [Data set]. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NOAA Fisheries, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife. https://calcofi.io/db-schema/?v=v2026.09.06 2026-09-04