Flying gurnard

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Flying gurnard
Flughahn.jpg
A flying gurnard near Crete, Greece
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Syngnathiformes
Family: Dactylopteridae
Genus: Dactylopterus
Lacépède, 1801
Species:
D. volitans
Binomial name
Dactylopterus volitans
Synonyms
  • Callionymus pelagicus Rafinesque, 1818
  • Cephalacanthus spinarella(Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Cephalacanthus volitans(Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Dactilopterus volitans(Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Dactylopterus blochii Swainson, 1839
  • Dactylopterus communisOwen, 1853
  • Dactylopterus fasciatus Swainson, 1839
  • Dactylopterus occidentalis Swainson, 1839
  • Dactylopterus spinarella(Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Dactylopterus tentaculatus Swainson, 1839
  • Dactylopterus vulgarisSteindachner, 1867
  • Gasterosteus spinarella Linnaeus, 1758
  • Gonocephalus macrocephalusGronow, 1854
  • Polynemus sexradiatusMitchill, 1818
  • Trigla fasciataBloch & Schneider, 1801
  • Trigla volitans Linnaeus, 1758

The flying gurnard (Dactylopterus volitans), also known as the helmet gurnard, is a species of Syngnathiformes fish belonging to the family Dactylopteridae. It is a bottom-dwelling fish that inhabits tropical to warm temperate waters on both sides of the Atlantic. [2] [3]

Contents

It is the only species in the genus Dactylopterus making it monotypic. Similar and related species from the genus Dactyloptena are found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Taxonomy

The flying gurnard is a Syngnathiform, an order of fish that includes seahorses, seamoths, pipefishes and other groups. It is a member of the family Dactylopteridae along with Dactyloptena . The genus it is in contains only species which makes it a monospecific taxa. [4]

It used to be classed within the order Scorpaeniformes but was moved to its current classification based on molecular evidence. [4]

Habitat

It is native to the Atlantic Ocean being found on both sides. On the American side, it is found as far north as Massachusetts (exceptionally as far as Canada) and as far south as Argentina, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. On the European and African side, it ranges from the English Channel to Angola, including the Mediterranean Sea. [3]

Description

It reaches up to 50 cm (20 in) in length and 1.8 kg (4.0 lb) in weight. [3]

This fish is variable in coloration, being brownish or greenish with reddish or yellowish patches. The fish also has large eyes. [5]

Pectoral fins

Each pectoral fin can be separated into two distinct sections. The anterior side (the digging side) mainly consist of segmented and flexible fin rays but has an anterior robust unsegmented ray providing an edge. This edge allows them to dig into the substrate in search for prey. The posterior side is also supported by unsegmented rays. [6]

When excited, the fish spreads its pectoral fins to make "wings". They are semitransparent, with a phosphorescent, bright-blue coloration at their tips.

Behavior

The fish's main diet consists of small fish, bivalves, and crustaceans. [7] They will use their pectoral fins to dig into the sediment to access prey items living within the sediments. Then they capture it by using oral suction feeding. When digging, they will typically use only one of their pectoral fins for digging. Each cycle of digging consist of 1-7 cycles of movement which occurs at a frequency of 1.15–3.74 cycles per second. To dig, it will move its fins forwards and then medially above the substrate. It will then twisted it medially and simultaneously depressed so that the anterior ray impacts and enters the substrate. It is then drawn backwards and laterally to disturb the substrate. [6]

Acoustics

The acoustic repertoire of Dactylopterus volitans consist of two distinct sounds, grunt A and grunt B, that are produced in an alternating pattern. Grunt A is a 225 Hertz harmonic sound that is composed of two to nine pulses that lasted around 30 milliseconds. These are either produced in isolation or in bursts with distinct short and long intervals. Grunt B is a about 170 Hertz composed of two to four pulses that lasts around 110 milliseconds. [8]

References

  1. ↑ Carpenter, K.E.; Munroe, T. & Robertson, R. (2015). "Dactylopterus volitans". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T185182A1777936. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T185182A1777936.en .
  2. ↑ "flying gurnard | marine fish". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Dactylopterus volitans". FishBase . Dec 2007 version.
  4. 1 2 Song, Ha Yeun; Choi, Young Ji; Jo, Seonmi; Kim, Bora; Jung, Seung-Hyun; Yoo, Jong Su; Lee, Dae-Sung (23 December 2019). "Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of Dactylopterus volitans (Syngnathiformes, Dactylopteridae)". Mitochondrial DNA. Part B, Resources. 5 (1): 351–352. doi:10.1080/23802359.2019.1704651. ISSN   2380-2359. PMC   7748829 . PMID   33366552.
  5. ↑ Bigelow, H. B. and W. C. Schroeder. Flying Gurnard, Dactylopterus volitans (Linnaeus) 1758. Fishes of the Gulf of Maine. Fishery Bulletin 74. United States Fish & Wildlife Service. 1953.
  6. 1 2 Davenport, John; Wirtz, Peter (10 November 2019). "Digging with 'hands': observations of food capture in the flying gurnard Dactylopterus volitans (Linnaeus, 1758)". Journal of Natural History. 53 (41–42): 2489–2501. doi:10.1080/00222933.2019.1705415. ISSN   0022-2933.
  7. ↑ "The Flying Gurnard – Whats That Fish!". whatsthatfish.com. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  8. ↑ Horvatić, S.; Vieira, M.; Amorim, M. C. P.; Malavasi, S.; Fonseca, P. J.; Stagličić, N.; Pavičić, M.; Zanella, D.; Erjavec, I.; Dragičević, B. (21 January 2026). "Acoustic repertoire and anatomical features of the flying gurnard from the Adriatic Sea". Journal of Zoology. doi:10.1111/jzo.70101. ISSN   0952-8369.


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