[2] The fish is named in honor of Cocco’s friend and colleague Jeanne Villepreux-Power (1794-1871), also known as Jeanette Power, a marine biologist who was famous for her work on the octopus Argonauta argo.

She was able to demonstrate that the octopus produced its own shell, rather than as was thought, acquiring it from a different organism similar to the way a hermit crab does.

Vinciguerria poweriae is a moderately slender and elongate fish growing to a length of about 43 mm (1.7 in).

The eyes are widely spaced and are not tubular, and the mouth is large, with a single row of teeth of varying length.

There are photophores (light-producing organs) on the lower half of the head and in two rows on the underside of the fish.