| Caristius fasciatus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scombriformes |
| Family: | Caristiidae |
| Genus: | Caristius |
| Species: | C. fasciatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Caristius fasciatus (Borodin, 1930) | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Caristius fasciatus, the Greenland manefish, is a species of fish. [2]
This large-eyed round fish is compressed in cross section. It is a pale blue-grey in colour with a few irregular darker bars and a dark, sail-like dorsal fin. The anal fins, like the dorsal fin, are dark, while the caudal and pectoral fins are small and translucent. [3] Their dorsal, pectoral and anal fins have no spines and are made up of only soft rays (31-34, 16-18 and 18-21 rays respectively). The longest recorded individual was 30 cm (12 in) long. [4]
The Greenland manefish has fewer and larger teeth and fewer vertebrae than Caristius macropus and Caristius meridionalis . It differs from Caristius digitus through the lack of a series of fingerlike papillae inside the opercle (the Greenland manefish has at most one), the short conical pharyngeal teeth (they are elongated in C. digitus), and fewer gill rakers. [5]
This species is found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. It is known from the oceans around Argentina, Canada, Greenland, Namibia and South Africa. [4] This species is found in the bethypelagic zone at depths of 100–420 m (330–1,380 ft). [6] This species may, however, also rarely be found closer to the coast. In South Africa, for example, it was photographed at a depth of 15 m (49 ft) off Oudekraal. [3]
While the diet of these species has not been examined in any detail, it is known to eat pelagic crustaceans, such as plankton. [7] From the capture of females and juveniles, it is believed that spawning occurs on the edges of sub-tropical waters, such as the Sargasso Sea, around the Gulf Stream and off the Azores. [8]