Atlantic tarpon
| Atlantic tarpon | ||||||||||||
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Atlantic tarpon ( Megalops atlanticus ) |
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| Megalops atlanticus | ||||||||||||
| Lacepède , 1803 |
The Atlantic tarpon ( Megalops atlanticus ) is a large bony fish that can grow to a maximum of 2.5 meters in length and is found in the eastern Atlantic from Senegal to Angola and in the western Atlantic from North Carolina to Bahia in Brazil, as well as in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico . Occasionally they are also found north of their normal range, on the coasts of Portugal , southern, Atlantic France , near the Azores and on the North American coast north to Nova Scotia . A population off Panama in the eastern, central Pacific must go back to specimens that migrated through the Panama Canal .
features
The Atlantic tarpon is covered with large, shiny silver scales. Its back is blue-gray. It has an upper mouth and a sloping mouth. The dorsal fin is short and sits over the middle of the body. Your last fin ray is elongated. The anal fin begins below the end of the dorsal fin, it is longer than this. The caudal fin is deeply forked. The pectoral fin attachment is very deep. The heaviest Atlantic tarpon so far caught weighed 161 kilograms. It can also reach speeds of up to 40 km / h.
The swim bladder is connected to the esophagus , can be filled with atmospheric air, and allows fish to live in deoxygenated water.
Fin formula : dorsal 13–16, anal 22–25
Way of life
The fish live near the coast in bays and mangrove-lined lagoons , they also go into brackish water , and in river mouths also in fresh water. They feed on schooling fish such as sardines , mullets , snooks and crabs . The Atlantic tarpon is very fertile, with 12 million eggs found in a 2.03 meter long female. The larvae go through a ribbon-like stage of leptocephalus and migrate to estuaries and swamps to transform themselves into fish.
use
The Atlantic tarpon is very popular with deep-sea anglers because of its “spectacular fights”. Its meat is marketed fresh or salted. In Colombia the fish are kept in aquaculture . The large scales are made into works of art or used in the manufacture of artificial pearls .
literature
- Hans A. Baensch / Robert A. Patzner: Mergus Sea Water Atlas Volume 6 Non-Perciformes (Non-Perciformes) , Mergus-Verlag, Melle, ISBN 3-88244-116-X .
Web links
- Atlantic tarpon on Fishbase.org (English)
- Megalops atlanticus inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Submitted by: Adams, A., Guindon, K., Horodysky, A., MacDonald, T., McBride, R., Shenker, J. & Ward, R., 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2013.