The Serranidae are a large family of fishes belonging to the order Perciformes. The family contains about 450 species in 65 genera, including the sea basses and the groupers. Although many species are small, in some cases less than 10 cm (3.9 in), the giant grouper is one of the largest bony fishes in the world, growing to 2.7 m in length and 400 kg (880 lb) in weight. Representatives of this group live in tropical and subtropical seas worldwide.
Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.
The bigeyed sixgill shark is a cow shark of the family Hexanchidae. Its dorsal surface has a brownish-gray color, and is sharply separated from the light coloring of its ventral surface. The eyes are a fluorescent green while the shark is alive. The body of this shark is small, slim, and fusiform in shape. As the name suggests, this shark has six gill slits, unusual among most shark species. The head is narrow and somewhat flattened, and the mouth contains 5 rows of large, comb-shaped teeth. This shark's single dorsal fin is pushed back towards the caudal fin, and is behind the pelvic fins. The upper caudal fin is much longer than the lower, with a deep notch near the tip. All fins have thin white margins on the edge. In juveniles, the upper caudal fin has a black tip.
The daggertooth pike conger also known as the darkfin pike eel in Australia, to distinguish it from the related pike-eel, is a species of eel in the pike conger family, Muraenesocidae. They primarily live on soft bottoms in marine and brackish waters down to a depth of 800 m (2,600 ft), but may enter freshwater. They commonly grow to about 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in length, but may grow as long as 2.2 m (7.2 ft). Daggertooth pike congers occur in the Red Sea, on the coast of the northern Indian Ocean, and in the West Pacific from Indochina to Japan. A single specimen was also reported in the Mediterranean Sea off Israel in 1982.
The lollipop catshark is a little-known species of deep sea catshark, belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae, and the only described member of its genus. A diminutive, bottom-dwelling shark of the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope, this species can be readily identified by its tadpole-like shape with a greatly expanded, rounded head and narrow body. The large head houses expanded gills, which are thought to be an adaptation for hypoxic conditions. This shark preys on crustaceans and fishes. Reproduction is aplacental viviparous, with females retaining egg cases internally two at a time until they hatch. There is no fishery interest in this species.
The longhead catshark or smoothbelly catshark is a species of catshark, family Scyliorhinidae, with a patchy distribution in the Indo-Pacific from Mozambique to southern Japan to northern Australia. It is found in water between 500 and 1,140 m deep. This species grows to 59 cm (23 in) long and is characterized by its extremely long and narrow snout, short abdomen, and long anal and caudal fins. In addition, a large area of the anterior ventral portion of its body lacks dermal denticles. The longhead catshark is oviparous and the only known cartilaginous fish that is normally hermaphroditic, with the majority of individuals having both the functional reproductive organs of one sex and the undeveloped reproductive organs of the opposite sex.
The spotted garden eel is a heteroconger belonging to the family Congridae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific.
The orbiculate cardinalfish, chubby cardinal, or polka-dot cardinalfish is a species of Apogonidae (cardinalfishes). It grows to about 10 cm total length, and has a thin, dark vertical 'waistband' with scattered dark spots toward the tail. It is found in coastal areas throughout much of the Indo-Pacific, including off East Africa, Kiribati, the Ryukyu Islands, New Caledonia, Belau, and the eastern Caroline and Mariana Islands.
Like humans and other animals, fish suffer from diseases and parasites. Fish defences against disease are specific and non-specific. Non-specific defences include skin and scales, as well as the mucus layer secreted by the epidermis that traps microorganisms and inhibits their growth. If pathogens breach these defences, fish can develop inflammatory responses that increase the flow of blood to infected areas and deliver white blood cells that attempt to destroy the pathogens.
Dawkinsia filamentosa, filament barb is a species of barb. Young fish have barely any color and black spots. They start having more color at three months old. The fish is a swift swimmer. Males are larger than females and they fertilize eggs by swimming into the cloud of eggs. The species is most commonly found in coastal floodplains near the Southwest Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. This species is also known as blackspot barb.
The phallic catshark is a little-known species of catshark, belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae. It is found on or near the ocean floor, in the deep waters off New Caledonia and Vanuatu. A slender species attaining a length of 46 cm (18 in), it is characterized by a long caudal fin bearing a crest of enlarged dermal denticles along the dorsal margin, and very long claspers in adult males. This shark is gray-colored, with four dark saddles along the back and tail.
Huffmanela branchialis is a parasitic nematode It has been observed on the gills of the fork-tailed threadfin bream Nemipterus furcosus, a nemipterid marine fish off New Caledonia. Its eggs are released from the gill mucosa with the turnover of living tissues and immediately continue their life-cycle.
Huffmanela ossicola is a parasitic nematode. It has been observed in the branchial arch bone and the spinal cord bone of the labrid marine fishes Bodianus loxozonus, Bodianus busellatus and Bodianus perditio caught off New Caledonia. This is the first species of Huffmanela reported from bone tissue. Its eggs are only available for the continuation of the life-cycle after the host's death.
Huffmanela is a genus of parasitic nematodes, belonging to the family Trichosomoididae.
Fish gills are organs that allow fish to breathe underwater. Most fish exchange gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide using gills that are protected under gill covers (operculum) on both sides of the pharynx (throat). Gills are tissues that are like short threads, protein structures called filaments. These filaments have many functions including the transfer of ions and water, as well as the exchange of oxygen, carbon dioxide, acids and ammonia. Each filament contains a capillary network that provides a large surface area for exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Huffmanela lata is a parasitic nematode. It has been observed on the skin of the grey reef shark Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos off New Caledonia. This species has only been reported once in the scientific literature.
Huffmanela hamo is a parasitic nematode. It has been observed in the muscles of the dagger-tooth pike conger Muraenesox cinereus, a muraenesocid marine fish off Japan. Its life-cycle is unknown.
Pseudorhabdosynochus is a genus of monopisthocotylean monogeneans, included in the family Diplectanidae. The type-species of the genus is Pseudorhabdosynochus epinepheli .
Bodianus busellatus is a species of wrasse native to tropical and warm temperate waters of the south central Pacific, particularly the Marquesas Islands. This species was described by Martin F. Gomon of the Australian Museum in 2006 with the type locality given as northeast of Matakumu Point on Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas Islands. This species is found only in the Marquesas and Pitcairn Islands.
Ascarophisnema is a genus of parasitic nematodes, belonging to the family Cystidicolidae. Species of Ascarophisnema are parasitic as adults in the gastrointestinal tract of fish. According to the World Register of Marine Species, the genus currently (2019) includes a single species, Ascarophisnema tridentatum.
