Driftfishes | |
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Bluefin driftfish, Psenes pellucidus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Scombriformes |
Suborder: | Stromateoidei |
Family: | Nomeidae Günther, 1860 |
Genera [1] | |
Nomeidae, the driftfishes, are a family of scombriform ray-finned fishes found in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. The family includes about 16 species. The largest species, such as the Cape fathead, Cubiceps capensis, reach 1 m in length.
Several species are found in association with siphonophores (which are colonies of tiny individual animals that have specialised functions which resemble jellyfish) such as the Portuguese man o' war; the man-of-war fish, Nomeus gronovii, is known to eat its tentacles and gonads, as well as feeding on other jellyfishes. Other species of driftfishes are associated with the floating seaweed Sargassum . The Cape fathead feeds mainly on salps. Some species of Cubiceps are occasionally caught on pelagic longlines set for swordfish.
The ragfish is a ray-finned fish of the northern Pacific Ocean; although classified as a bony fish, its skeleton is mostly cartilage, and the larvae have pelvic fins that disappear as they mature. It is the sole member of the family Icosteidae within the order Scombriformes.
Medusafishes are a family, Centrolophidae, of scombriform ray-finned fishes. The family includes about 31 species. They are found in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world.
The squaretails are a genus, Tetragonurus, of scombriform ray-finned fishes, the only genus in the family Tetragonuridae.
Cubiceps caeruleus, the blue fathead or cubehead, is a species of driftfish native to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It is a pelagic fish that can be found at depths of from 20 to 250 metres. It mostly feeds on salps. This species can reach a length of 25.6 centimetres (10.1 in) TL.
Cubiceps is a genus of driftfishes found circumglobally.
Psenes is a genus of driftfishes native to the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
The bullet tuna is a species of tuna, in the family Scombridae, found circumglobally in tropical oceans, including the Mediterranean Sea, in open surface waters to depths of 50 m (164 ft). The population of bullet tuna in the Eastern Pacific was classified as a subspecies of A. rochei, A. rochei eudorax, but some authorities regard this as a valid species Auxis eudorax. Its maximum length is 50 centimetres (20 in).
The Serra Spanish mackerel is a species of fish in the family Scombridae. Specimens have been recorded at up to 125 cm in length, and weighing up to 6.71 kg. It is found in the western Atlantic, along the Caribbean and Atlantic coasts of Central and South America from Belize to Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Literature records for S. maculatus from the area apply to S. brasiliensis, which has erroneously been considered a synonym of S. maculatus by many authors. It feeds on small fish, squid/cuttlefish, shrimp/prawn, and isopods.
The Australian spotted mackerel is a species of fish in the family Scombridae. Common fork length ranges between 50 and 80 cm. Specimens have been recorded at up to 104 cm in length, and weighing up to 10.2 kg. It is found in the western Pacific, along the northern coast of Australia, from the Abrolhos Islands region of Western Australia to Coffs Harbour and Kempsey in central New South Wales. It is also found in southern Papua New Guinea from Kerema to Port Moresby. It feeds largely on fishes, particularly anchovies and sardines, with smaller quantities of shrimps and squids. It is sometimes confused with Japanese Spanish mackerel, S. niphonius. Conservation status of the species has been evaluated as Near Threatened by the IUCN. This species was described in 1980 and was previously confused with the Japanese Spanish mackerel of the north western Pacific but S. munroi has a different visceral structure, more vertebrae and fewer gill rakers.
The West African Spanish mackerel is a species of fish in the family Scombridae.
The broadbarred king mackerel or grey mackerel is a species of fish in the family Scombridae found in tropical waters of the western Pacific, along the northern coast of Australia and the southern coast of Papua New Guinea, from Shark Bay, Western Australia to northern New South Wales, in waters from the surface down to 100 m (330 ft). Specimens have been recorded at up to 120 cm in length, and weighing up to 10 kg. They are pelagic predators, feeding on small fishes such as sardines and herring.
The Kanadi kingfish is a species of ray-finned bony fish in the family Scombridae, the mackerel family. Also known as the Kanadi seerfish, queen mackerel, or spotted mackerel, it is found in subtropical waters of the western Indian Ocean, Seychelles, Kenya and Zanzibar to South Africa and along the west coast of Madagascar. Kanadi kingfish commonly occur in depths of 50 to 200 m. Specimens have been recorded at up to 120 cm (47 in) in length, and weighing up to 12.5 kg (28 lb). They feed mainly on small fishes such as anchovies and clupeids, squids, and mantis shrimps.
Cynoglossus canariensis, commonly known as the Canary tonguesole is a species of tonguefish. It is commonly found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off western Africa, from Mauritania and Western Sahara south to Angola, including the Canary Islands and Cape Verde Islands. It is a demersal species found at depths of 10-300m, it has been found in brackish water, but is normally a coastal species which occurs over substrates of sand or mud. It feeds on small fish and crustaceans. This species is targeted in trawl fisheries throughout its range and in many areas, it appears to have undergone significant declines. For example, in Gabon the mixed Cynoglossus stock is considered overexploited, while in other parts of western Africa such as Mauritania the stocks of Cynoglossus had declined by over 60% in the five or six years up to 2015. The IUCN list C. canariensis as Near Threatened due to is dependence on conservation.
Cynoglossus capensis, commonly known as the sand tonguesole, is a species of tonguefish.
Neocaristius heemstrai is a species of fish in the family Caristiidae, the manefishes. It is native to the oceans of the southern hemisphere where it is known to occur at depths of from 420 to 1,360 metres. This species grows to a length of 11.8 centimetres (4.6 in) SL.
Scombriformes, also known as Pelagia and Pelagiaria, is an order of ray-finned fish within the clade Percomorpha. It contains 287 extant species in 16 families, most of which were previously classified under the suborders Scombroidei and Stromateoidei of the order Perciformes.
Cubiceps pauciradiatus is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Nomeidae (driftfishes).
Psenes arafurensis is a species of scombriform ray-finned fish in the family Nomeidae (driftfishes).
Psenes cyanophrys of freckled driftfish is a species of scombriform ray-finned fish in the family Nomeidae (driftfishes).
Psenes sio is a species of scombriform ray-finned fish in the family Nomeidae (driftfishes).