Lampris megalopsis
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Lampris megalopsis |
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| Underkoffler , Luers , Hyde & Craig , 2018 |
Lampris megalopsis (English: Bigeye Pacific Opah) is a species of fish from the genus of god salmon ( Lampris )that is widespread in almost all oceans. There is evidence of the species from the coasts of American Samoa , Australia, Chile and Indonesia, from the central northern Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico and from the southwest (coast of South Africa) Indian Ocean. The species seems to be rare east of 160 ° W. It was onlydescribedas adifferent speciesfrom Lampris guttatus in 2018, after a study based on DNA comparisons from 2014 revealed thatfive cryptic species were hiddenbehind the name Lampris guttatus .
features
Like all divine salmon, Lampris megalopsis is a large fish with an approximately round, laterally flattened body. The type specimens examined in the first description had standard lengths of 73.4 and 85.3 cm, the body length being 1.5 times the body height. The fish are steel blue on the back and silvery on the belly. The head and the entire body are densely covered with numerous irregularly shaped white spots. The fins are bright red. The tongue is usually purple in color. The caudal fin is monochrome without a contrasting rear edge. The scales are small, thin, and easily fall off. The sideline begins at the upper gill slit, then runs in a high arc above the base of the pectoral fin and then along the middle of the body to the middle of the caudal peduncle. The mouth is strongly protruding (protractile). The upper jaw is shorter than the slightly protruding lower jaw. The jaw and palate are toothless. Compared to other god salmon, Lampris megalopsis has a relatively short dorsal fin.
- Fins formula : Dorsal I / 50–51, anal 38, pectoral 22–23, ventral 14–15.
Lampris megalopsis is difficult to distinguish from Lampris incognitus , with which it shares a small part of the range. In Lampris megalopsis the horizontal eye diameter is usually more than 5% of the total length and more than 30% of the head length, in L. incognitus the eye diameter is less than 5% of the total length. Lampris incognitus feeds mainly on zooplankton , while L. megalopsis eats epipelagic fish.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Underkoffler, KE, Luers, MA, Hyde, JR & Craig, MT (2018): A taxonomic review of Lampris guttatus (Brünnich 1788) Lampridiformes; Lampridae) with descriptions of three new species. Zootaxa, 4413 (3): 531-540. DOI: 10.11646 / zootaxa.4413.3.9
- ↑ Hyde, J., Underkoffler, K. & Sundberg, M. (2014): DNA barcoding provides support for a cryptic species complex within the globally distributed and fishery important opah ( Lampris guttatus ). Molecular Ecology Resources, 14, 1239-1247. doi: 10.1111 / 1755-0998.12268
- ↑ Choy, C., Portner, E., Iwane, M. & Drazen, JC (2013) Diets of five important predatory mesopelagic fishes of the central North Pacific. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 492, 169-184. doi : 10.3354 / meps10518