Eagle fish
| Eagle fish | ||||||||||||
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Eagle fish ( Argyrosomus regius ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Argyrosomus regius | ||||||||||||
| ( Asso , 1801) | ||||||||||||
Argyrosomus regius (= Sciaena aquila (Lacepède, 1803)) , which occurs in the eastern Atlantic, is up to 2.3 meters long and sometimes weighs over 100 kilograms, is known as an eagle fish or umber fish (in the fish trade also known as French maigre or English meagre ) of the Umberfische family (Sciaenidae). Sometimes, however, smaller fish species from the western Atlantic also bear the name of eagle fish, for example the umberfishes Cynoscion arenarius , Micropogonias undulatus and Pogonias cromis , as well as the American saw shark Pristiophorus schroederifrom the family of saw sharks .
features
The eagle fish mostly occurs near the coast at depths of 15 to 300 meters and can also be found in brackish water . The name probably derives from the curved head profile line typical of Sciaeniden.
In addition to swimming crustaceans, its diet consists of fish such as Clupeidae , Atherinidae and Mugilidae . As the largest umber, it is an active predator. The dentition has a number of stronger fangs between the other smaller marginal teeth. The teeth of the fused lower pharyngealia are plump and are used to crush food, especially in crustaceans - barbels are missing. The color is a silvery white, back and fins are (red) brown. It is often mentioned that the lining of the oral cavity is yellow, like in salmon . The fin formula is D1 X – XI, D2 II / 27–33, A II / 7–8.
distribution
The southern limit of its distribution area is about 6 ° south latitude , while the eagle fish penetrates in the north through the English Channel into the North Sea and occurs on the southern coasts of Ireland and Britain. It also lives in the Mediterranean, but is rarer in its southeastern part, and occasionally the Black Sea . It is one of the few species that migrated into the Red Sea through the Suez Canal (see Lesseps migration ). Individual finds off Iceland, Norway, in the Baltic Sea and the Indian Ocean (where a number of related species, some of which are of similar size, live up to South Africa and Japan) are known.
behavior
Like all umberfish, the eagle fish can use the muscles on its swim bladder to make deep sounds that are used for acoustic communication. This mainly happens during the spawning season in spring, when the fish flock to the warmest coasts of their area, for example off the Maghreb states. Conspecifics can perceive the sound waves as vibrations using otoliths over 3 centimeters in size in their stato-acoustic organ .
use
The sciaena has been a valued edible fish since ancient times and is now also an important commercial and sport fish; in Spain and France it is already grown in aquaculture - with the well-known negative consequences.
Web links
- Eagle fish on Fishbase.org (English)