Hussar fish

Hussar fish
	Big thorn hussar ( Sargocentron spiniferum )
Systematics
Sub-cohort :	Neoteleostei
	Acanthomorphata
	Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
Order :	Holocentriformes
Family :	Soldier fish and hussar fish (Holocentridae)
Subfamily :	Hussar fish
Scientific name
	Holocentrinae
	Bonaparte , 1832

The hussar fish (Holocentrinae), also called squirrel fish, are mostly reddish, large-eyed fish with large, clearly visible scales and a forked tail fin. There are three types .

features

Hussar fish are 20 to 60 centimeters long, depending on the species. The animals are often striped lengthways. They differ from their close relatives, the soldier fish (Myripristinae) , by the slimmer body, the pointed head shape and the large spike on the gill cover . The gill cover spines of some Indo-Pacific species of the genus Sargocentron are poisonous and can cause painful wounds. In the case of Atlantic species, no toxic effects are known. The longest spine of the anal fin is usually longer than or the same length as the longest spine of the dorsal fin. The anal fin has seven to ten soft rays. The swim bladder is tubular and very elongated. In some species it has contact with the skull.

Way of life

During the day they live in caves, crevices or under overhangs in the coral reefs of the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific , at night they become active. They are loners who claim territories and are aggressive towards other species. Similar to damselfish , hussar fish can generate noise by contracting muscles, with the swim bladder serving as an acoustic amplifier. They can be heard when the fish feel threatened or defend themselves. Hussar fish hunt bottom-dwelling animals such as worms, crabs, and small fish.

Hussar fish are often kept in larger show aquariums, as they rarely grow larger than 30 centimeters. You can reach a very old age there.

Systematics

Originally all hussar fish belonged to the genus Holocentrus . Today only two Atlantic species belong to the genus. The other hussar fish belong to the Neoniphon (rather slender forms) and Sargocentron (higher-backed forms), although these two genera are not monophyletic according to current phylogenetic studies .

Hussar fish (Holocentrinae)
- Genus Holocentrus Scopoli, 1777 .
  - Common hussar ( Holocentrus adscensionis ) (Osbeck, 1765) .
  - Long-spiked hussar ( Holocentrus rufus ) (Walbaum, 1792) .
- Genus Neoniphon Castelnau, 1875 .
- Genus Sargocentron Fowler, 1904 .

literature

Joseph S. Nelson : Fishes of the World . John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN 0-471-25031-7 .

Hans A. Baensch / Robert A. Patzner: Mergus Sea Water Atlas Volume 6 . Mergus-Verlag, Melle, ISBN 3-88244-116-X .

Dieter Eichler / Robert F. Myers: Coral fish Indo-Pacific . Jahr-Verlag GmbG & Co., ISBN 3-86132-225-0 .

Individual evidence

↑ DW Greenfield: Holocentridae Squirrelfishes (soldierfishes). Page 1192 in FAO Species Identification guide for Fishery Purposes: The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Atlantic, Volume 2 Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae) , ISSN 1020-6868
↑ Ricardo Betancur-R, Edward O. Wiley, Gloria Arratia, Arturo Acero, Nicolas Bailly, Masaki Miya, Guillaume Lecointre and Guillermo Ortí: Phylogenetic classification of bony fishes . BMC Evolutionary Biology, BMC series - July 2017, DOI: 10.1186 / s12862-017-0958-3

[1] DW Greenfield: Holocentridae Squirrelfishes (soldierfishes). Page 1192 in FAO Species Identification guide for Fishery Purposes: The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Atlantic, Volume 2 Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae) , ISSN 1020-6868

[Betancur-R._et_al.-2] Ricardo Betancur-R, Edward O. Wiley, Gloria Arratia, Arturo Acero, Nicolas Bailly, Masaki Miya, Guillaume Lecointre and Guillermo Ortí: Phylogenetic classification of bony fishes . BMC Evolutionary Biology, BMC series - July 2017, DOI: 10.1186 / s12862-017-0958-3