Halterfish

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Halterfish
Zanclus cornutus 1.jpg

Halterfish ( Zanclus cornutus )

Systematics
Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Order : Surgeonfish (Acanthuriformes)
Family : Zanclidae
Genre : Zanclus
Type : Halterfish
Scientific name of the  family
Zanclidae
Bleeker , 1877
Scientific name of the  genus
Zanclus
Cuvier , 1831
Scientific name of the  species
Zanclus cornutus
( Linnaeus , 1758)

The halterfish ( Zanclus cornutus ; Hawaiian kihikihi ) occurs in the coral reefs of the tropical Indo-Pacific to a depth of 180 meters. Its distribution area extends from East Africa to Rapa and Ducie , north to southern Japan and Hawaii , south to Lord Howe Island . In the eastern Pacific it occurs from the southern Gulf of California to Peru . The halter fish family (Zanclidae) is monotypical , that is, it contains only one genus and this only one species.

features

The 22 centimeter long fish has many anatomical features in common with the surgeon fish , but it lacks the scalpels on the tail stalk. Its body is disk-shaped (or actually sickle-shaped, from gr. Ζἀγκλη sickle ), the snout is small and elongated. The first rays of the dorsal fin are elongated into a flag-like filament, which, together with its black and white banding , gives it a resemblance to the banner fish , to which it is, however, not closely related. The species name (Latin: horned ) refers to an over-eye sting, which is only evident in sexually mature individuals.

Way of life

Halters inhabit lagoons, rocky and coral reefs with high currents. They usually appear in pairs, in small groups of two to three specimens, or occasionally in flocks.

They feed on sponges , bog animals , other sessile invertebrates and algae . For this purpose, the jaws are covered with long, thin brush teeth. They spawn in the evening hours, then rise in pairs to the surface of the water and release their pelagic eggs. A long larval stage is the reason for the wide distribution of the halter fish. With a length of 7.5 centimeters, the animals transform from the post-larval stage to young fish.

Fossil of Eozanclus brevirostris

Halters are occasionally imported for keeping in saltwater aquariums . As nutrition specialists, however, they usually starve to death after a few weeks.

Fossil record

The fossil halterfish Eozanclus brevirostris is known from the middle Eocene of the northern Italian Monte Bolca formation, which was formed from deposits of the Tethys .

Trivia

The cartoon character Khan from the Pixar Animation Studios film Finding Nemo is a halter fish.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Kihikihi in Hawaiian Dictionaries
  2. ^ Karl Albert Frickhinger: Fossil Atlas of Fishes. Mergus, Melle 1999, ISBN 3-88244-018-X

Web links

Commons : Zanclus cornutus  - collection of images, videos and audio files