Moon eyes

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Moon eyes
Moon eye (Hiodon tergisus)

Moon eye ( Hiodon tergisus )

Systematics
Subclass : Neuflosser (Neopterygii)
Subclass : Real bony fish (Teleostei)
Overcohort : Osteoglossomorpha (Osteoglossomorpha)
Order : Hiodontiformes
Family : Hiodontidae
Genre : Moon eyes
Scientific name of the  family
Hiodontidae
Cuvier & Valenciennes , 1846
Scientific name of the  genus
Hiodon
Lesueur , 1818

The moon eyes ( Hiodon ) are a genus of herring-like, up to 50 cm long freshwater fish that live with two recent species in North American large lakes and rivers east of the Rocky Mountains . Three other species from the Eocene , now extinct , also occurred west of the Rocky Mountains. The scientific name Hiodon obviously refers to the toothed hyoid bone (hyoid + Gr .: "Odous" = tooth) which is opposite the parasphenoid and thus forms the "inner bite" of the osteoglossomorpha.

features

The recent moon eyes will be a maximum of half a meter long, but in most cases remain about 30 cm long. Your dorsal fin has nine to twelve rays , the anal fin is long with 23 to 33 rays, the caudal fin is split, the pelvic fins have seven rays. Your swim bladder extends into your skull.

From other genera of the Hiodontiformes (all extinct), Hiodon u. a. by the tubular and curved nasals , a dorsal indentation on the premaxillary , a rounded, posterior - ventral outgrowth on the gill cover , the number of vertebrae (50 to 63), the absent or reduced neural process of the first vertebra and the two neural processes of the second vertebra. While all other osteoglossomorpha have two pyloric tubes , Hiodon (and Pantodon ) only has one.

Way of life

The two recent species, the moon-eye and the gold-eye , occur in lakes and rivers, often in strong flowing water. They feed on smaller fish, snails, insects and crustaceans, go on spawning migrations and spawn from April to June over stony or gravelly water in regions with little current.

Systematics

The genus consists of two recent and three extinct species, two of which were originally assigned to the genus Eohyodon Cavender, 1966 . After the synonymization of Eohyodon with Hiodon , Hiodon is the only genus of the family Hiodontidae.

German name Scientific name Distribution or location Geological epoch
Gold eye Hiodon alosoides
( Rafinesque , 1819)
central and eastern North America. Recent
Moon eye Hiodon tergisus
Lesueur , 1818
central and eastern North America. Recent
Hiodon consteniorum
Li & Wilson , 1994
northwest Montana . late Eocene
Hiodon rosei
( Hussakof ) Hilton & Grande , 2008
British Columbia , Canada. Eocene
Hiodon woodruffi
( Wilson , 1978)
Washington . Eocene

literature

  • Joseph S. Nelson : Fishes of the World , John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN 0-471-25031-7
  • Eric J. Hilton & Lance Grande: Fossil Mooneyes (Teleostei: Hiodontiformes, Hiodontidae) from the Eocene of western North America, with a reassessment of their taxonomy. Geological Society, London, 2008, Abstract , doi : 10.1144 / SP295.13

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Eric J. Hilton & Lance Grande (2008)
  2. ^ Li, Guo-Qing, & Mark VH Wilson. 1998. Hiodon consteniorum in The Tree of Life Web Project

Web links

Commons : Hiodon  - collection of images, videos and audio files