Cook Islands Flashlightfish

Protoblepharon rosenblatti was first described in 1997 by Carole C. Baldwin, G. David Johnson and John Richard Paxton and named in honour of the American ichthyologist Richard H. Rosenblatt, an expert on the Anomalopidae. The type specimen was brought to the surface by hook and line from a depth of 274 m (900 ft) at Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It has a standard length of 23 cm (9 in). The body is deep and laterally compressed, being nearly twice as deep as it is wide. The dorsal fin has 7 spines and 14 soft rays, and the anal fin, 2 spines and 11 soft rays. The eyes are small and there is a small light organ just underneath each eye. This is located on a short stalk and is capable of being rotated downwards so that it is concealed in a pocket which has a stretchable black shutter membrane.