Umberfish

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Umberfish
Sea raven (Sciaena umbra)

Sea raven ( Sciaena umbra )

Systematics
Sub-cohort : Neoteleostei
Acanthomorphata
Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
incertae sedis
Family : Umberfish
Scientific name
Sciaenidae
Cuvier , 1828

The umberfishes (Sciaenidae) family, also known as shadow fish and drummers , consists of 70 genera and 270 species. They were given the name "Drummers" because the males make drum-like sounds during courtship. Umberfish live in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian Oceans , near the coast, often in the mangrove and in seagrass beds, some in coral reefs , many penetrate into brackish water , around 28 species even only live in fresh water, especially in South America. Umberfish are absent in the central Pacific. Most umberfish live near the surface, very few below 200 m. Almost all of them are important, tasty food fish.

features

Umberfish grow to be nine centimeters to 2.30 meters long. Your body is usually elongated, high back, and slightly flattened on the sides. A characteristic feature is the steep, short first dorsal fin. It is separated from the second by a deep pit, they are seldom completely apart. The first dorsal fin is supported by six to 13 spiny rays, the second by a sting ray and 0 to 35 soft rays. The anal fin usually has one or two soft spines, the second of which can be quite large, and six to 13 soft rays.

The males make their drum sounds by using special muscles to make the swim bladder vibrate. They also stimulate blind bags to emit natural frequencies.

The otoliths , with the help of which the umberfishes hear the species-specific sounds, can be over 30 mm in size, depending on the species and age. Your head channels are usually well developed (often with special pores) - added often come (one to many) mandibular barbels . The scales are medium-sized (two per segment) to very small (5), namely ctenoid scales , but often (smaller) cycloid scales on the head and chest . The snout is rounded, the mouth terminal or below.

The ventral pharyngealia are fused and have squeezing molars. In contrast, the jaw teeth can be weak (vomer and palatine teeth are always missing). The opercular bone is split dorsocaudally; A bone-supported skin flap sits above it. The curved lateral line organ extends to the caudal fin, which is never symmetrically double-lobed, but is often S-shaped at the back. The fish usually swim amiiform , i. H. Propulsion is not generated by the tail, but by the (soft) dorsal fin and the pectoral fins.

Benthic umberfish usually hide during the day and only look for food at night (eyes large, sense of touch important).

Genera and species

White sea bass ( Atractoscion nobilis )
Bairdiella chrysoura
Cynoscion regalis
Banded knightfish
( Equetus lanceolatus )
Spotted knightfish
( Equetus punctatus )
White umber
( Genyonemus lineatus )
Atlantic umber
( Micropogonias undulatus )
Banded umber
( Paralonchurus brasiliensis )
Pareques acuminatus
Freshwater umberfish ( Plagioscion squamosissimus )

literature

  • Joseph S. Nelson : Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN 0-471-25031-7
  • Kurt Fiedler: Textbook of Special Zoology, Volume II, Part 2: Fish . Gustav Fischer Verlag Jena, 1991, ISBN 3-334-00339-6
  • Paolo Parenti: An annotated checklist of fishes of the family Sciaenidae. Journal of Animal Diversity, 2 (1): 1-92. 2020. online

Web links

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