Cuban fish
| Cuban fish | ||||||||||||
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Cuban bonefoot and turtle in Cuba |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Atractosteus tristoechus | ||||||||||||
| ( Bloch & Schneider , 1801) |
The Cuban gar ( Atractosteus tristoechus , Spanish: Manjuari) is a species from the family of billfish (Lepisosteidae), which is endemic in the west of Cuba and on the nearby Isla de la Juventud occurs. Some authors consider the species to be specific to the alligator pike ( Atractosteus spatula ). It is edible and fished with nets and rods, but its spawn is poisonous.
features
Cuban pike reach a body length of an average of about one and a maximum of over two meters. The body is almost cylindrical and darker on the back than on the belly. The dorsal and anal fins are located far back on the body. The pectoral and pelvic fins sit very deep, the caudal fin is slightly asymmetrically rounded. All fins only show soft rays. The entire body is covered by diamond-shaped, non-overlapping ganoid scales. There are 49 to 51 scales in front of the dorsal fin, and 56 to 62 rows along the sides. The muzzle is elongated and carries the nostrils at the tip. Within the pike it is relatively short and wide with a maximum of 60% of the head length. The teeth sit in two rows on each side of the jaw. The gill trap has on the first gill arch 67 to 81 branched rays.
Way of life
The species lives mainly in freshwater lakes and rivers and feeds primarily on fish, but occasionally also prey on water birds.
swell
- The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae) . In: KE Carpenter (Ed.): FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication . tape 5 . FAO, Rome 2002, p. 676 ( full text [PDF]).
- Cuban bonefish on Fishbase.org (English)
