Notoscopelus caudispinosus anal fin and 11 to 13 in the pectoral fins. There are groups of photophores (small light organs) on the head and sides of the body. Above the caudal peduncle there is a row of eight to nine luminous scale-like segments in adult males, but male fish lack luminous organs above the eye and on the cheek. "N. caudispinosus" differs from closely related species in having fewer than 15 gill rakers. This species has a wide oceanic distribution in deep water habitats. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean between the equator and about 35°N, but is absent from
Operculum (gastropod) seals the shell, it can also serve as a protection against predators when the snail body is retracted. In life, the operculum is attached at the ending of the columellar muscle with an opercular disc dorsally to the upper surface of the posterior part of the foot. However, in "Buccinum" a layer of long cylindrical epithelial cells, with mostly distinct nuclei, and long divided processes enter between the muscular fibres. The operculum, a cuticular development of these cells, is composed, as may be seen in the corneous opercula of "Murex", "Purpura", "Triton", of very thin superimposed layers. The cylindrical cells