Wingfish

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wingfish
Dwarf winged steed (Eurypegasus draconis) from the Tayando Islands

Dwarf winged steed ( Eurypegasus draconis ) from the Tayando Islands

Systematics
Sub-cohort : Neoteleostei
Acanthomorphata
Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Order : Pipefish (Syngnathiformes)
Family : Wingfish
Scientific name
Pegasidae
Adams , 1854

The winged steed fish (Pegasidae) or sea ​​moths occur with six species in flat regions of the western tropical Indo-Pacific and live on sand and gravel bottoms, less often in coral reefs. The largest species can reach a length of 13 cm.

features

The body is short and, except for the tail, flattened (depress - which is otherwise rare in Osteichthyes ). He is encased in a bone plate armor. The small, toothless mouth is subordinate, but protruding; it is surmounted by the rostrum, which was created by the fusion of the long nasals. ( Peristedion cataphractum has a very similar rostrum, but is not related.) As in the Syngnathidae, the gill filaments are arranged like tufts (which is an adaptation to very strong suckers). Operculare and suboperculare are very small, the preoperculare, on the other hand, is large (suction snaps using the jockstrap ). The dorsal and anal fins are short, usually only with 5 soft rays each. The relatively broad, horizontally positioned pectoral fin is spanned by 10–18 unbranched rays. Pelvicalia abdominal (abdominal; VI / 1–3). C 8; the tail stalk is square in section. The five Branchiostegalia are thread-shaped. Supracleithrum and Postcleithra, bones in the shoulder girdle, are missing. Of the three suborbital bones, the foremost (the lacrimale) is the largest. The swim bladder is missing. 19–22 vertebrae, the anterior 6 of the trunk are reinforced. The diet consists of small size zoo benthos . The animals spawn in open water near the surface.

Similar to seahorses, dried wing roses are often offered in local souvenir shops.

Systematics

The systematic assignment of winged steed has long been controversial. In the past they were often listed as a separate order of Pegasiformes . Today they are counted among the pipefish-like (Syngnathiformes).

Genus Eurypegasus

The two species of the genus Eurypegasus have eight or nine osseous rings around the caudal fin stalk. Your eyes are visible when viewed from below.

Genus Pegasus

The four species of the genus Pegasus have eleven or more bony rings around the caudal fin stalk. Your eyes are not visible when viewed from below.

literature

  • Joseph S. Nelson : Fishes of the World . John Wiley & Sons, 2006 ISBN 0-471-25031-7 .
  • Rudie H. Kuiter : Seahorses: pipefish, shredded fish and their relatives . Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2001 ISBN 3-80013-244-3 .
  • WA Palsson, and TW Pietsch: Revision of the Acanthopterygian fish Family Pegasidae (Order Gasterosteiformes). Indo-Pacific Fishes, 18, 1989

Web links

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