Herklotsichthys punctatus | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Clupeiformes |
Family: | Dorosomatidae |
Genus: | Herklotsichthys |
Species: | H. punctatus |
Binomial name | |
Herklotsichthys punctatus (Rüppell, 1837) | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Herklotsichthys punctatus, the spotback herring or spotted herring, is a species of herring from the family Dorosomatidae. It is endemic to the Red Sea and likely entered the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal and is now common on the Levantine Basin. [2]
Herklotsichthys punctatus is a small silvery fish which shows a moderate degree of compression on the body which is said to resemble juveniles of Sardinella spp. The belly has a sharp keel of scutes. The posterior margin of the gill slit has two distinct fleshy outgrowths; there are few gill raker with 29–39 on the lower part of the first arch. [3] There are 3–6 streaks on the top of the head and prominent rows of teeth on the roof of the mouth. [4] There are 8 rays on the pelvic fin, [3] while the dorsal fin has 13–21 soft rays and the anal fin has 12–23 soft rays. [5] The back is blueish-green with numerous small black spots, the flanks have a golden or orange mid=lateral line, the underside is silvery. It grows to 8.5 cm, but is more usually 5–7 cm in length. [3]
Herklotsichthys punctatus is distributed in the western Indian Ocean: Red Sea and possibly the Gulf of Aden but this species and other species of Herklotsichthys have been confused, especially Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus . [5] It was first recorded in the Mediterranean in 1943 off the coast of Palestine and is now common in the southeastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea all the way to the Gulf of Sirte. [2] [6] [4] [7]
Herklotsichthys punctatus is a pelagic and neritic species which van be found from the surface to 20m in depth. [7] It is a sociable species which forms schools in coastal waters [5] H. punctatus feeds almost entirely on zooplankton which it forages for in the upper layers of the water column. Copepods are the main prey followed by euphausiid and megalopa with the remainder of the diet being made up of the larvae of Penaeus prawns, mysids, Lucifer prawns, pelagic gastropods and fish. Feeding was most intense during the south-west monsoon from June to September and during the early hours of the day rather than during the afternoon hours. Smaller fish to 90 mm feed mainly on smaller organisms such as copepods. Larger fish prey on larger organisms such as fish and pelagic gastropods. Mature fish show an intense feeding activity in the months of April and August–September which immediately precede the spawning seasons of this fish. [8]
Herklotsichthys punctatus is of minor commercial importance fisheries, fished for using trawls and seines [7] in the Mediterranean but with low price reliability [9] the marketing opportunities are limited. [4] It may be marketed as fresh fish, or it is preserved by drying and dry salting or it is made into fish balls. [5]
Herklotsichthys punctatus was described by the German zoologist Eduard Rüppell in 1837. The generic name Herklotsichthys was coined by the Australian ichthyologist Gilbert Percy Whitley in 1951 [10] and honours the Dutch zoologist Jan Adrianus Herklots, [5] while the specific name punctata refers to the spots. [11]
Rabbitfishes or spinefoots are perciform fishes in the family Siganidae. The 29 species are in a single genus, Siganus. In some now obsolete classifications, the species having prominent face stripes—colloquially called foxfaces–are in the genus Lo. Other species, such as the masked spinefoot, show a reduced form of the stripe pattern. Rabbitfishes are native to shallow waters in the Indo-Pacific, but S. luridus and S. rivulatus have become established in the eastern Mediterranean via Lessepsian migration. They are commercially important food fish, and can be used in the preparation of dishes such as bagoong.
The slender rainbow sardine is a small, subtropical, salt water fish of the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea which was first described by Bleeker in 1849. Dussumieria hasselti and Dussumieria productissima are synonyms for this same fish. It is a round herring of the family Clupeidae.
The milk shark is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae, whose common name comes from an Indian belief that consumption of its meat promotes lactation. The largest and most widely distributed member of its genus, the milk shark typically measures 1.1 m (3.6 ft) long, and can be found in coastal tropical waters throughout the eastern Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific regions. Occurring from the surface to a depth of 200 m (660 ft), this species is common near beaches and in estuaries, and has been recorded swimming up rivers in Cambodia. Juveniles are known to inhabit tidal pools and seagrass meadows. The milk shark has a slender body with a long, pointed snout and large eyes, and is a nondescript gray above and white below. This shark can be distinguished from similar species in its range by the long furrows at the corners of its mouth, and seven to 15 enlarged pores just above them.
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The areolate grouper, also known as the yellowspotted rockcod, areolate rockcod, green-spotted rock-cod, squaretail grouper or squaretail rock-cod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It inhabits coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. They are produced through aquaculture and commercially fished. They currently face no threats to their survival.
Herklotsichthys is a genus of herrings in the family Dorosomatidae found mostly around Southeast Asia and Australia with one species each in the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the western Indian Ocean. This genus currently contains 12 species.
The mottled fusilier is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a fusilier belonging to the family Caesionidae. It has a broad Indo-Pacific distribution. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Dipterygonotus.
Decapterus russelli, also known as the Indian scad, northern mackerel scad, round scad, Russell's mackerel scad, slender scad, or three lined grunter, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Carangidae. It naturally occurs in the Indian and the western Pacific Oceans and has colonised the eastern Mediterranean through the Suez Canal. It is an important species in coastal fisheries throughout its range.
Sphyraena chrysotaenia, the yellowstripe barracuda, is a species of predatory, ray finned fish from the family Sphyraenidae which is found in the Indo-West Pacific region. It has entered the Mediterranean Sea from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal as a Lessepesian migrant and is now an important species in the fisheries of the eastern Mediterranean.
Terapon puta, the spiny-checked grunter, three-lined grunter, small-scaled banded grunter, small-scaled terapon, squeaking perch or two-lined grunter, is a species of fish from the Indo-Pacific region, it is a member of the grunter family, Terapontidae. It has also spread into the eastern Mediterranean Sea from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, a process known as Lessepsian migration.
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Hemiramphus far, the halfbeak, black-barred halfbeak, black-barred garfish, barred halfbeak, barred garfish or spotted halfbeak, is a schooling marine fish belonging to the family Hemiramphidae, the halfbeaks. It has an Indo-Pacific distribution and has invaded the eastern Mediterranean through the Suez Canal.
Hyporhamphus affinis, the tropical halfbeak, tropical garfish, insular halfbeak or coral reef halfbeak, is a species of schooling marine fish from the family Hemiramphidae. It is distributed through the Indo-Pacific regions and has been recorded in the Mediterranean Sea which it reached through the Suez Canal.
Siganus rivulatus, the marbled spinefoot, rivulated rabbitfish or surf parrotfish, is a gregarious, largely herbivorous ray-finned fish of the family Siganidae. Its natural range encompasses the western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea from where it colonised the Mediterranean Sea by Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal. It is the type species of the genus Siganus.
Equulites klunzingeri, or Klunzinger's ponyfish, is a marine, demersal species of ponyfish from the family Leiognathidae which was originally found only in the Red Sea. It is colonizing the Mediterranean as part of the Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal.
Planiliza carinata, the keeled mullet, is a species of grey mullet from the family Mugilidae which is found in the western Indian Ocean and eastern Mediterranean Sea. It colonised the Mediterranean by Lessepsian migration from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal. The keeled mullet is a species of minor importance in commercial fisheries.
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