Pony fish

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Pony fish
Leiognathus lineolatus

Leiognathus lineolatus

Systematics
Sub-cohort : Neoteleostei
Acanthomorphata
Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Order : Surgeonfish (Acanthuriformes)
Family : Pony fish
Scientific name
Leiognathidae
Gill , 1893

The pony fish (Leiognathidae) are a family of perch-related fish that are found in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans . Equulites klunzingeri immigrated into the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal . Ponyfish are mostly found in shallow coastal waters and in the intertidal zone. Some species also go into fresh water.

features

Pony fish are five to 28 centimeters long, depending on the species. Your body is flattened on the sides, covered with small scales, the lower part of the body is very slimy. The head is usually scaly and shows bony ridges on top. The mouth is small and extensible (protractile). The palatine bone is toothless. An eye gill gland (pseudobranch) is missing. The number of Branchiostegal rays is four to five, the number of vertebrae 22 to 24. All types of pony fish have luminous organs along the esophagus.

Ponyfish have a single, continuous dorsal fin. The hard rays of the dorsal and anal fin can be fixed by a locking mechanism. The bases of the dorsal and anal fin are scaled.

Fins formula : dorsal VIII – IX / 14–16, anal III / 14.

Ponyfish feed on small, bottom-dwelling invertebrates .

Genera and species

There are ten genera and around 50 species:

Aurigequula fasciata
Secutor insidiator
Equulites ruconius
Equulites elongatus
Equulites leuciscus
Equulites rivulatus
Karalla daura
Nuchequula nuchalis
Photolateralis stercorarius

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ CIESM Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea: Equulites klunzingeri

Web links

Commons : Leiognathidae  - Collection of images, videos and audio files