Scaled mackerel
Scaled mackerel | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Large scale mackerel ( Gasterochisma melampus ) |
||||||||||||
Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Gasterochisma melampus | ||||||||||||
Richardson , 1846 |
The large scale mackerel ( Gasterochisma melampus ) is a fish from the family of mackerel and tuna (Scombridae) and represents ( monotypically ) its own subfamily.
Characteristic of the large scale mackerel are the deep skin pockets for the pelvic fins, which are particularly large and black in young animals. With age, the head becomes plump and rounded in profile. It reaches a length of 1.7 m, the color is a silvery dark blue. The scales are large for mackerel, the rafts numerous. The swim bladder remains lifelong and even has two extensions to the head (to improve hearing).
The fish lives in all southern seas at temperatures of 10 to 15 ° C, i.e. between Argentina , South Africa , South Australia , New Zealand and Chile (to Peru ). It prefers depths of 200 to 600 m and mainly eats squid. It is of little economic importance.
literature
- Gasterochisma melampus. In: Bruce B. Collette, Cornelia E. Nauen: Scombrids of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalog of tunas, mackerels, bonitos and related species known to date (= FAO Species Catalog. Vol. 2 = FAO Fisheries Synopsis. No. 125, Vol. 2). United Nations Development Program et al., Rome 1983, ISBN 92-5-101381-0 , ( complete edition ).
Web links
- Large scale mackerel on Fishbase.org (English)
- Gasterochisma melampus inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Collette, B., Boustany, A., Carpenter, KE, Di Natale, A., Fox, W., Graves, J., Juan Jorda, M., Miyabe, N., Nelson, R., Oxenford , H. & Uozumi, Y., 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2013.