West Atlantic Trumpet Fish
| West Atlantic Trumpet Fish | ||||||||||||
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West Atlantic trumpet fish, yellow-headed color morphs. |
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| Aulostomus maculatus | ||||||||||||
| Valenciennes , 1841 |
The West Atlantic Trumpet Fish ( Aulostomus maculatus ) is found in the western tropical Atlantic from the Bermuda Islands over the south coast of Florida to the north coast of South America and around the Saints Peter and Saint Pauls rocks .
features
It becomes a maximum of one meter long, but usually stays at a length of 60 centimeters. Its elongated, rod-shaped body can be very variable in color. The fish are often striped brown, but there are also monochrome yellow specimens. The conspicuous, tubular snout can be ripped open to the diameter of the body. At the tip of the lower jaw there is a noticeable barb . The dorsal and anal fins sit symmetrically to each other far back, just in front of the caudal fin. Both are supported by 21 to 25 soft fin rays. In front of the soft-radiated dorsal fin there are 8 to 13 short spines that are isolated from one another and not connected by a fin membrane.
Way of life
West Atlantic trumpet fish live solitary at depths of 2 to 25 meters. They occur in algae rock and coral reefs and are usually found near the sea floor. They usually swim in a sloping position with their heads tilted down. This is how they camouflage themselves between gorgonians . They feed on fish or shrimp. Stomach examinations showed a fish share of 73% and a crustacean share of 27%. The prey fish include gobies , cardinalfish , wrasse , red mullet and slimy fish . To catch prey, they swim slowly towards the victim and then suck it in by suddenly opening their mouths. They often approach their prey by using larger fish, including groupers , filefishes , lipfish or parrotfish, for camouflage. Eggs, larvae and fry of the West Atlantic Trumpet Fish are pelagic .
literature
- Hans A. Baensch , Robert A. Patzner: Mergus Sea Water Atlas Volume 6. Non-Perciformes (non-perch-like) . Mergus-Verlag, Melle 1998 ISBN 3-88244-116-X
- Rudie H. Kuiter : Seahorses, pipefish, shredded fish and their relatives . Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001 ISBN 3-8001-3244-3
Web links
- West Atlantic Trumpet Fish on Fishbase.org (English)