Sail carrier
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| Bleeker , 1859 |
The sail carriers (Veliferidae) ( Lat . Velum = sail; fero = to carry) are a family of glossy fish (Lampriformes). The 28 to 40 centimeters long fish live pelagic , mostly near the coast, in the Indian Ocean and in the western and central Pacific . They seem rare.
features
Your body is high back and flattened on the sides. The dorsal and anal fins are sail-like high and are supported by 32 to 44 and 25 to 35 fin rays. The pelvic fins have seven to nine soft rays. The fish are toothless, the swim bladder is large and extends far back over the anus. The number of vertebrae is 33 or 34 (16 + 17 or 18), the number of Branchiostegal rays is six.
Systematics
The Veliferidae are considered to be the most pristine glossy fish species living today. There are only two monotypical genera:
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Metavelifer Walters, 1960 .
- Metavelifer multiradiatus (Regan, 1907) .
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Velifer Temminck & Schlegel, 1850 .
- Velifer hypselopterus Bleeker, 1879 .
In addition to the recent species, two other fossil genera are known: Veronavelifer from the Eocene of northern Italy (together with Metavelifer forms the subfamily Metaveliferinae) and Palaeocentrotus from the Eocene of Denmark. The second genus is usually placed in its own family, the Palaeocentrotidae .
literature
- Joseph S. Nelson : Fishes of the World. 4th edition. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken NJ et al. 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
Web links
- Sail carrier on Fishbase.org (English)