Blue swallowtail
| Blue swallowtail | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blue swallowtail ( Chromis cyanea ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Chromis cyanea | ||||||||||||
| ( Poey , 1860) | ||||||||||||
The blue swallowtail ( Chromis cyanea ) is a species of damselfish from the tropical, western Atlantic. Its exact distribution area extends from Bermuda over the Bahamas and southern Florida over the whole Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico to the Antilles .
features
The blue swallowtail becomes ten centimeters long. The length is 2.3 to 3 times the body height. It is colored bright metallic blue, the underside is a little lighter. The radiating part of the dorsal fin and anal fin, the deeply incised caudal fin and the caudal fin stalk are bordered by black bands. In its habitat it is the only strikingly colored fish and it is unmistakable.
The dorsal fin has twelve hard and twelve soft rays, the anal fin has two hard and twelve soft rays. The pectoral fins are supported by 16 to 18 fin rays. There are 28 to 30 gill trap processes on the first gill arch . The sideline is accompanied by 16 to 18 scales.
Way of life
The blue swallowtail lives above deep outer reefs and feeds on zooplankton , especially copepods . Its habitat ranges from depths of 3 to 55 meters. However, it can only be found in shallow water layers when the coral growth extends to the surface of the water. It often forms mixed schools with the creole wrasse . In case of danger, the fish flee into the coral thicket. Like all damselfish it is a substrate spawner , the larvae are pelagic .
literature
- Gerald R. Allen : Damselfish of the World , Mergus Verlag Melle, 1991, ISBN 3-88244-007-4
- Hans A. Baensch / Robert A. Patzner: Mergus Sea Water Atlas Volume 7 Perciformes (perch-like) , Mergus-Verlag, Melle, 1998, ISBN 3-88244-107-0
- Maren u. Werner Baumeister: Marine fauna, Caribbean and Florida . Ulmer Verlag, ISBN 3-8001-4164-7
Web links
- Blue Swallowtail on Fishbase.org (English)
- Chromis cyanea inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: Collen, B. & Richman, N., 2009. Retrieved January 12, 2014.