Flying gurnard

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Flying gurnard
Flughahn.jpg
A flying gurnard near Crete, Greece
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
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 bottom-dwelling fish of tropical to warm temperate waters on both sides of the Atlantic. [2] 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 and Gulf of Mexico. [3] On the European and African side, it ranges from the English Channel to Angola, including the Mediterranean. [3] This is the only species in the monotypic genus Dactylopterus. Similar and related species from the genus Dactyloptena are found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

This fish is variable in coloration, being brownish or greenish with reddish or yellowish patches. [4] When excited, the fish spreads its "wings", which are semitransparent, with a phosphorescent, bright-blue coloration at their tips. The fish also has large eyes. It reaches up to 50 cm (20 in) in length and 1.8 kg (4.0 lb) in weight. [3]

The fish's main diet consists of small fish, bivalves, and crustaceans. [5]

Related Research Articles

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The flying gurnards are a family, Dactylopteridae, of marine fish notable for their greatly enlarged pectoral fins. As they cannot literally fly or glide in the air, an alternative name preferred by some authors is helmet gurnards. They have been regarded as the only family in the suborder Dactylopteroidei of the Scorpaeniformes but more recent molecular classifications put them in the order Syngnathiformes, in the superfamily Centriscoidea.

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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. 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.
  5. "The Flying Gurnard - Whats That Fish!". www.whatsthatfish.com. Retrieved 15 June 2016.