Monodactylus falciformis
| Monodactylus falciformis | ||||||||||||
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Monodactylus falciformis |
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| Monodactylus falciformis | ||||||||||||
| Lacépède , 1801 | ||||||||||||
Monodactylus falciformis is a fish from the family of the fin leaves (Monodactylidae). Like the other species in the family, they live socially and form large swarms with their fellow species.
Occurrence
The natural range of the species is on the African east coast in the western Indian Ocean and extends from the South African False Bay to the coast of northeast Africa. It is also found on the coasts of Madagascar and Réunion as well as in the Red Sea . Monodactylus falciformis is also found in the brackish water of estuaries and lagoons, rarely in pure fresh water.
features
Monodactylus falciformis reaches a maximum body length of 30 centimeters. The species has no sexual dimorphism ; that is, males and females cannot be distinguished from one another externally. Their body is disc-shaped, slightly longer than high and silvery in color, with the back side being somewhat darker or sooty. The dorsal, anal and caudal fins are slightly yellowish, the tips of the dorsal and anal fin are blackish. From Monodactylus argenteus , the species also occurs on the African east coast and in the Red Sea, Monodactylus falciformis differs in its slightly more elongated body, as well as its eyes and mouth, which are smaller in relation to its length. Young fish of Monodactylus falciformis show eleven to twelve horizontal stripes, those of Monodactylus argenteus only two on the head and front body.
- Fin formula : Dorsal IIX / 25–30, Anale III / 25–29
literature
- Baensch / Patzner: Mergus Sea Water Atlas Volume 7 Perciformes (perch-like) . Mergus-Verlag, Melle, 1998, ISBN 3-88244-107-0
Web links
- Monodactylus falciformis on Fishbase.org (English)