Long-nosed lance fish
| Long-nosed lance fish | ||||||||||||
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A specimen of Alepisaurus ferox , caught off Hawaii |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Alepisaurus ferox | ||||||||||||
| Lowe , 1833 |
The long-nosed lance fish ( Alepisaurus ferox ) is a predatory fish found in all oceans between 84 ° N and 57 ° S and the largest species of lizard fish relatives (Aulopiformes). Catches of the species come from the western and eastern Pacific from the Aleutian Islands to Chile, from the western Atlantic from the coast of Canada, the Gulf of Maine , from the Gulf of Mexico , the Caribbean and also from the eastern Atlantic. The long-nosed lance fish occurs at depths of up to 1830 meters.
features
The maximum length of the species is 2.15 meters, most of the adult specimens reach a length of about 1.5 meters. The maximum weight, measured on a 1.67 meter long specimen, was 9 kg. Alepisaurus ferox has an elongated body and a large, sail-like dorsal fin, in which three fin rays , beginning with the third or fourth, are greatly elongated and not connected by a fin membrane in the upper part. A small adipose fin is present. It lies over the back of the anal fin. The head and muzzle are long. The head length is about 17% of the standard length , the muzzle length about one third to one half of the head length. The mouth is deeply split, and there are two long, conspicuous fangs on the palate. The number of Branchiostegal Ray is 7 to 8, the vertebrae 47 to 52. Alepisaurus ferox is pale in color, the back is dark, the sides are iridescent . All fins are dark brown to black. The peritoneum is black.
- Fin formula : dorsal 30–45, anal 13–18.
Way of life
The long-nosed lance fish occurs mainly in tropical and subtropical seas, but migrates far north to forage , to the Bering Strait , to Greenland or Iceland . It lives epi- to mesopelagic from the water surface to depths of 1,800 meters and is primarily nocturnal. It feeds on fish, cephalopods , tunicates and crustaceans and is even eaten by god salmon , sharks , white and yellowfin tuna and ear seals. Like many lizard fish relatives, Alepisaurus ferox is a simultaneous hermaphrodite , ie the fish have functional female and male sexual organs at the same time. The larvae live planktonically .
The economic importance of the species is low.
literature
- William N. Eschmeyer, Earl S. Herald, Howard Hamann: A field guide to Pacific Coast Fishes of North America. From the Gulf of Alaska to Baja California (Peterson Field Guides; 28). Houghton Mifflin, Boston, Mass. 1983, ISBN 0-395-33188-9 .
- W. Fischer, G. Bianchi and WB Scott: FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. Eastern central Atlantic. Rome, 1981
Web links
- Alepisaurus ferox on Fishbase.org (English)
- Alepisaurus ferox inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: Paxton, JR, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2013.