Saber-toothed fish
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| Fowler , 1901 |
The saber-toothed fish (Evermannellidae) are a family of slender deep-sea fish that occur in tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic , Indian Ocean and the Pacific in the Mesopelagic . Saber-toothed fish live solitary at depths of 200 to 1000 meters. It is not known if they do a vertical hike during the day.
The fish got their German name because of their oversized fangs. The family name Evermannellidae was named in honor of Dr. Barton Warren Evermann , a noted ichthyologist , scientist, and director of the California Academy of Sciences.
features
Saber-toothed fish are four to 18 centimeters long. Its body is elongated and flaky, the skeleton delicate and paper-like. The Atlantic saber tooth fish ( Coccorella atlantica ) is the largest species with a maximum of 18.5 centimeters. Saber tooth fish have no luminous organs.
Fins formula : dorsal 10–13, anal 26–37, pectoral 11–13, caudal 10–13.
The large blunt head ends in a large mouth with large, backward-curved fangs at the front and smaller straight teeth at the back. The tongue is toothless. The backward curved fangs make it possible to choke down large prey whole.
The eyes are small and telescopic. The mostly brownish or pale pink animals have no swim bladder and an uninterrupted sideline . The stomach is highly ductile. It allows them to swallow prey that is larger than themselves. The tail fin root is equipped with three distinct muscle bands that are clearly visible from the outside. The number of vertebrae is 45 to 54.
Reproduction
Not much is known about their reproduction. They spawn in the open water. Eggs and larvae are pelagic. The long-snouted larvae live in shallower depths of 50-100 meters and only descend into deeper regions after metamorphosis . The species Evermannella indica and Odontostomops normalops have been shown to change sex in the course of their life.
Systematics
The saber-toothed fish are divided into three genera and eight species:
- Genus Coccorella
- Atlantic saber toothfish ( Coccorella atlantica ) (Borodin, 1931).
- Coccorella atrata ( Alcock , 1894).
- Genus Evermannella
- Evermannella ahlstromi Johnson & Glodek, 1975.
- Evermannella balbo ( Risso , 1820).
- Evermannella indica brewer , 1906.
- Evermannella megalops Johnson & Glodek, 1975.
- Evermannella melanoderma Parr, 1928.
- Genus Odontostomops
- Odontostomops normalops (Parr, 1928).
literature
- Kurt Fiedler: Textbook of Special Zoology, Volume II, Part 2: Fish , Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena 1991, ISBN 3-334-00339-6 .
- Joseph S. Nelson : Fishes of the World , John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN 0-471-25031-7 .
Web links
- Saber-toothed fish on Fishbase.org (English)