Parascorpis typus
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Parascorpis typus |
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| Parascorpididae | ||||||||||||
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| Parascorpis | ||||||||||||
| Bleeker , 1875 | ||||||||||||
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| Parascorpis typus | ||||||||||||
| Bleeker, 1875 | ||||||||||||
Parascorpis typus is a rare and little researched marine fish found on the coast of southern Africa from Maputo , the capital of Mozambique , to False Bay on the Cape of Good Hope in southwestern South Africa .
features
Parascorpis typus becomes a maximum of 60 cm long and a maximum of 2.3 kg. The fish have a high-backed, oval body and a sharp-mouthed head. The body is taller than the head is long. The standard length is 2 to 2.2 times the body height. The mouth is large and has a protruding lower jaw, but has only weak teeth. The gill trap rays are long and numerous. The space between the eyes is concave, the caudal fin forked. The pelvic fins are clearly behind the pectoral fins. Adult fish are dull silvery-gray to brown in color, juvenile fish show cream-colored vertical stripes on the sides. The inside of the mouth and gills are white, the tongue is dark.
- Fin formula : Dorsal XI – XII / 15–17, Anale III / 13–15.
- Scale formula : mLR 60–70 (scales overlap and many are covered).
Way of life
Parascorpis typus lives close to the coast at depths of 20 to 200 meters in relatively cool water. It feeds on zooplankton , especially krill and hover shrimp , and also eats other shrimp and small fish.
Systematics
Parascorpis typus is the only species in the genus Parascorpis and the only one in the Parascorpididae family. Joseph S. Nelson, however, presents the family in his standard work Fishes of the World as a subfamily to the steerable perches (Kyphosidae).
literature
- Phillip C. Heemstra, Elaine Heemstra: Coastal fishes of Southern Africa. ISBN 1-920-03301-7 on Google books
- Dennis King, Valda Fraser: More reef fishes & nudibranchs: east and south coast of Southern Africa. ISBN 1-868-72686-X on Google books
- Joseph S. Nelson: Fishes of the World , John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN 0-471-25031-7
Web links
- Parascorpis typus on Fishbase.org (English)
- Parascorpididae on Fishbase.org (English)