Longspine snipefish

The longspine snipefish, bellowfish, common bellowsfish, snipe-fish, snipefish, spine trumpet fish, or trumpetfish, Macroramphosus scolopax, is a snipefish of the genus Macroramphosus. It is also known as the slender snipefish off the South African coast.[3] [4]

Longspine snipefish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Syngnathiformes
Family: Macroramphosidae
Genus: Macroramphosus
Species:
M. scolopax
Binomial name
Macroramphosus scolopax
Synonyms[2]
  • Balistes scolopax Linnaeus, 1758
  • Centriscus scolopax (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Solenostomus scolopax (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Silurus cornutus Forsskål, 1775
  • Centriscus squamosus Bloch, 1785
School of trumpetfishes (Macroramphosus scolopax), Faial-Pico Channel, Azores Islands, Portugal

Distribution

This fish is found worldwide in tropical to subtropical water[3] in the Atlantic, Indian, and west Pacific Oceans, at depths of 25 to 600 m (82 to 1,969 ft)ea. It has also been observed in the eastern Pacific off Santa Catalina Island, California.

Description

Longspine snipefish are reddish pink dorsally but have silvery bellies. They have a large eye, long snouts and a slender spine protruding dorsally.[3]

Ecology

The longspine snipefish feeds on crustacean zooplankton such as copepods and ostracods, as well as benthic invertebrates.[3]

In the month-long NORFANZ Expedition of 2003 which examined the biodiversity of the seamounts and slopes of the Norfolk Ridge, 5000 specimens averaging 78 g (2.8 oz) were collected from three locations.[5]

Reproduction

Courting males follow and swim parallel to the female near the bottom. The two fish join by their caudal peduncle, and the genital papilla of the female extends and contacts the genital region of the male repeatedly. Courting males change color and act aggressively with other males prior to this process. [4]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Macroramphosus scolopax.
  1. Fritzsche, R.; Matsuura, K.; Collette, B.; et al. (2010). "Macroramphosus scolopax". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T155030A4705899. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T155030A4705899.en.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2018). "Macroramphosus scolopax" in FishBase. February 2018 version.
  3. Smith, M.M. and Heemstra, P.C. (eds.) 2003. Smiths' Sea Fishes ISBN 1-86872-890-0
  4. De Oliveira, Rui Fil; Carvalho Almada, Vitor A.; De Fátima Gil, Maria Gil (1 April 1993). "The reproductive behavior of the longspine snipefish, Macrorhamphosus scolopax (Syngnathiformes, Macrorhamphosidae)". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 36 (4): 337–343. doi:10.1007/BF00012410.
  5. NORFANZ Voyage Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  • Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd., Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8
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