Blue eyes
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Blue muzzle ( Helicolenus dactylopterus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Helicolenus dactylopterus | ||||||||||||
| ( Delaroche , 1809) |
The blue muzzle or blue muzzle ( Helicolenus dactylopterus ) is a marine fish that lives on the coasts of the northern Atlantic , in the west from Nova Scotia to Venezuela , in the east from Iceland to Norway , on the western coasts of the British Isles , Madeira , the Azores , the coast West Africa to South Africa as well as in the Mediterranean .
features
Blue muzzles grow to a maximum of 47 centimeters, but usually stay at 25 centimeters. The maximum published weight is 1.55 kg and the maximum age is 43 years. They are less high back than the closely related Sebastes species. They are reddish in color. Y-shaped dark bands extend between the soft rayed part of the dorsal fin and the anal fin. The lower eight rays of the pectoral fins are partly exposed and are not connected to one another by a fin membrane. It is named after the black and blue mouth cavity.
Way of life
Blue muzzles live close to the ground on the continental shelf on soft soils at depths of 50 to 1100 meters, usually below 150 meters. They feed on crustaceans, fish, cephalopods, and echinoderms .
Reproduction
Like the Sebastes species, blue muzzles have internal fertilization and are viviparous. Free sperm were found in the ovaries from July to early December . The fertilization takes place one to three months later. Early-stage embryos were observed from January to April. The larvae are born from March to July. They and the fry are initially pelagic.
use
Blue muzzles are of little economic importance and tend to be incidental bycatch when fishing for redfish .
literature
- Bent J. Muus, Jørgen G. Nielsen: The marine fish of Europe in the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Atlantic. Kosmos, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-440-07804-3 .
Web links
- Blue Muzzles on Fishbase.org (English)