Sculptured winged steed
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Sculptured winged steed ( Pegasus lancifer ) |
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| Pegasus lancifer | ||||||||||||
| Kaup , 1856 |
The sculpted winged steed ( Pegasus lancifer ) is a small fish from the group of pipefish species that is endemic to the subtropical and temperate seas on the south coast of Australia and around Tasmania .
features
The sculpted winged steed is nine to twelve centimeters long. It is dark brown olive or bluish in color on the upper side, the underside is light brown. The body is rounded, on the back side without deep pits and clearly set off from the long tail fin stalk. It is armored by four pairs of dorsolateral (on the sides of the back) and five pairs of ventrolateral (on the sides of the abdomen) bone plates. The tail fin stalk is surrounded by 14 bony rings, the first seven of which can move against each other, while the last seven have grown together. The last bone ring of the tail fin stalk has a pair of spines pointing backwards at the top and bottom. The rostrum is square in cross section. The edge of the eye sockets is covered with small scales. When viewed from below, the eyes are covered by the lower edge of the eye sockets. The only dorsal fin sits on the caudal fin stalk and, like the anal fin , is supported by five soft fin rays. The pectoral fins are fan-shaped. The number of vortices is 22.
Way of life
The fish live in groups with a large number of individuals over sandy and muddy bottoms, often on the edge of seagrass meadows , in bays and estuaries down to a depth of 50 meters. They often bury themselves partially in the ground and are able to change their color quickly to adapt to the substrate. Their breeding season is in spring. Courtship and oviposition take place at dusk with spring tide .
literature
- Rudie H. Kuiter : Seahorses, pipefish, shredded fish and their relatives . Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001 ISBN 3-8001-3244-3
Web links
- Sculptured winged steed on Fishbase.org (English)
- Pegasus lancifer inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Posted by: Vincent, A., 1996. Retrieved September 27, 2013.