Echiodon drummondii

Echiodon drummondii, sometimes called Drummond's echiodon or Drummond's pearlfish,[3] and in Ireland simply called the pearlfish,[4] is a species of fish in the family Carapidae (pearlfish).[5][6]

Echiodon drummondii
Drawing from A History of the Fishes of the British Islands (1877)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Ophidiiformes
Family: Carapidae
Genus: Echiodon
Species:
E. drummondii
Binomial name
Echiodon drummondii
(Thompson, 1837)
Synonyms[2]
  • Echiodon drummondi Thompson, 1837

It is named for James Lawson Drummond, who collected the holotype at Carnlough, Ireland in 1836.[4][7]

Description

Echiodon drummondii is reddish in colour with a silvery abdomen, operculum and iris and dark markings on the head.[8] It has an eel-like body, up to 30 cm (1 ft) in length, making it among the largest of the family.[9] Its eyes are large, and lateral line is very faint.

Habitat

Echiodon drummondii is bathydemersal, living at depths of 52–403 m (171–1,322 ft) in the North Sea and the waters surrounding Great Britain and Ireland;[8] it has also been recorded off Iceland and the Azores.[10]

Behaviour

Echiodon drummondii can be free-living and feeds on small invertebrates, fish and bottom-dwellers.[8] It is also known to live inside sea cucumbers; the cucumber opens its anus to breathe in, and the pearlfish swims in.[11][4] Eggs have been discovered in the seabed off County Kerry.[12]

References
  1. "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species".
  2. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Echiodon drummondii Thompson, 1837". www.marinespecies.org.
  3. Hamilton, Robert (June 25, 1843). "The Natural History of British Fishes. Vol. I-[II] ..." W.H. Lizars, ... S. Highley, ... London; and W. Curry, jun. and Company Dublin. – via Google Books.
  4. Foster, John Wilson; Chesney, Helena C. G. (June 25, 1998). Nature in Ireland: A Scientific and Cultural History. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. ISBN 9780773518179 – via Google Books.
  5. "Taxonomy browser (Echiodon drummondii)". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
  6. Cohen, Daniel M.; Nielsen, Jørgen G. G.; Nielsen, Jørgen G. (June 25, 1978). "Guide to the Identification of Genera of the Fish Order Ophidiiformes with a Tentative Classification of the Order". Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service – via Google Books.
  7. "The Irish Naturalists' Journal". I.N.J. Committee. June 25, 1971 – via Google Books.
  8. "Echiodon drummondii". www.fishbase.de.
  9. Nelson, Joseph S.; Grande, Terry C.; Wilson, Mark V. H. (March 16, 2016). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781119220817 – via Google Books.
  10. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Echiodon drummondii Thompson, 1837". www.marinespecies.org.
  11. "Pearlfish from a Sea Cucumber | Smithsonian Ocean". ocean.si.edu.
  12. Kennedy, M.; Champ, T. (June 25, 1971). "Occurrence [sic] of Eggs of Echiodon drummondi Thompson on the Coast of County Kerry" – via oar.marine.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)


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