Microstomatidae

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Microstomatidae
Nansenia groenlandica

Nansenia groenlandica

Systematics
Subclass : Neuflosser (Neopterygii)
Subclass : Real bony fish (Teleostei)
Overcohort : Clupeocephala
Cohort : Euteleosteomorpha
Order : Golden salmon (Argentiniformes)
Family : Microstomatidae
Scientific name
Microstomatidae
Bleeker , 1859

The Microstomatidae ( Greek mikros , small, stoma , mouth) are a family of golden salmon-like (Argentiniformes). The fish, known as “pencil smelts” in English, live pelagically in the Atlantic , Indian and Pacific , especially in tropical and subtropical regions.

features

The fish, which are 8.5 to 26.5 centimeters long, are elongated, usually dark in color and in most cases have large eyes and small mouths. It is characteristic that the eyes have twice the diameter of the mouth length. The postcleithra, a bone in the shoulder girdle, is present, the mesocoracoid is absent. The fins are without hard rays, the dorsal fin clearly behind the middle of the body. An adipose fin is usually present. The pectoral fins sit on the side. The fish have 41 to 50 vertebrae and 3 to 4 gill trap rays . The lateral line organ and accompanying scales extend to the tail.

Systematics

There are three genera and 21 species:

Microstoma microstoma

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Jan Yde Poulsen: A new species of pencil smelt Nansenia boreacrassicauda (Microstomatidae, Argentiniformes) from the North Atlantic Ocean. Zootaxa, 4020, 3, pp. 517-532, September 2015 doi : 10.11646 / zootaxa.4020.3.6
  2. Microstomatidae Bleeker, 1859 . In: R. Froese and D. Pauly, (Eds.): FishBase , accessed through World Register of Marine Species , 2015, accessed September 24, 2015

literature

Web links

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