Indian threadfin

Last updated

Indian threadfin
Polynemus indicus - 1700-1880 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam - UBA01 IZ13400115.tif
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Polynemidae
Genus: Leptomelanosoma
Motomura & Iwatsuki, 2001 [1]
Species:
L. indicum
Binomial name
Leptomelanosoma indicum
(Shaw, 1804)
Synonyms [2]
  • Polynemus indicusShaw, 1804
  • Polydactylus indicus(Shaw, 1804)
  • Trichidion indicum(Shaw, 1804)
  • Trichidion indicus(Shaw, 1804)
  • Polynemus sele Hamilton, 1822
  • Polynemus uronemus Cuvier, 1829
  • Polynemus gelatinosus McClelland, 1843

The Indian threadfin (Leptomelanosoma indicum) is a species of marine ray-finned fish from the family Polynemidae, the threadfins. It is a coastal species from south-east Asia which has been recorded in Papua New Guinea.

Contents

Description

The Indian threadfin is a large species with an elongated head and body. Its eye is roughly the same size as the length of its snout. The joint of the jaws is to the rear of the eyelid. It has two separated dorsal fins, the first dorsal fin contains 8 spines while the second dorsal fin has a single spine and 12 or 13 soft rays. The anal fin has 3 spines and 10 or 11 soft rays. The base of the anal-fin is shorter than that of the second dorsal-fin. The pectoral fin has 12 to 14rays and has a length equivalent to 19 to 22% of the standard length, its tip not reaching to the tip of the pelvic fin. The pectoral fin is situated well below the body's midline. There are five pectoral filaments, the first one being the shortest and does not extend to the pelvic fin while the fifth filament is the longest with a length equivalent 28 to 45% of standard length and extending well beyond the posterior tip of the pelvic fin. The caudal fin is deeply forked with the upper and lower lobes being extremely long and filamentous. It has 69 to 72 pored scales in its simple lateral line which extends from the upper end of gill opening to upper end of lower lobe of the caudal-fin lobe. The head and upper flanks are tinted slightly blackish brown, darkening on the lower flanks. The snout and abdomen are blackish. The membranes of first and second dorsal fins and caudal fin are blackish with their outer portions being black. The membrane of the pectoral fin is deep black with the base of the filaments being dusky yellow, darkening to the rear. The pelvic fin is also dusky yellow at its base and dirty white on its other parts. [3] This species can attain a length of 142 centimetres (56 in) but most specimens will be around 50 centimetres (20 in). [2]

Distribution

The Indian threadfin has been confirmed as occurring in the coastal waters of southern Asia from Pakistan to Borneo. In Papua New Guinea there is a single record of a specimen taken in Kerema Bay in the Gulf of Papua. Records from Africa are unconfirmed and not now regarded to be of this species. [3]

Habitat and ecology

The Indian threadfin is found over shallow muddy and sandy substrates on the continental shelf, especially in the vicinity of estuaries and it is known to enter rivers. It is carnivorous and the largest part of its diet is small benthic crustaceans, such as prawns and crabs, and small fishes. The amount of fishes taken increases as the fishes grow larger. [2] It has been taken from as deep as 100 metres (330 ft) but rarely below 55 metres (180 ft). [4] In a sample taken off India 40% of the fish caught were hermaphrodites, 19.3% were males and 41% were females. They spawn in two main periods, April to June and October to November, with the main breeding season being April to June. However, in southern India spawning was in October and November. [3]

Fisheries

The Indian threadfin is one of the most important quarries for fisheries of a number of Asian nations< They are caught with gill nets, trawls, handlines and beach seines. [3] The flesh is used fresh or preserved by freezing, drying and smoking and is prepared by baking, steaming, frying or broiling. [2]

Species description and taxonomy

This species was first formally described by as Polynemus indicum in 1804 by the Irish naturalist George Shaw from a drawing by Russell and he gave the location of the type as Vizagapatam. [5] It was reclassified into the monospecific genus Leptomelanosoma in 2001. [1]

Related Research Articles

Threadfin Family of fishes

Threadfins are silvery grey perciform fish of the family Polynemidae. Found in tropical to subtropical waters throughout the world, the threadfin family contains eight genera and about 40 species. An unrelated species sometimes known by the name threadfin, Alectis indicus, is properly the Indian threadfish.

Atlantic threadfin Species of fish

The Atlantic threadfin is a species of ray-finned fish a threadfin from the family Polynemidae which is native to subtropical and temperate waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

<i>Eleutheronema tetradactylum</i> Species of fish

Eleutheronema tetradactylum, the fourfinger threadfin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a threadfin from the family Polynemidae which occurs in the Indian and western Pacific Ocean.

<i>Plectorhinchus albovittatus</i> Species of fish

Plectorhinchus albovittatus, the two-striped sweetlips or giant sweetlips, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, part of the grunt family Haemulidae. It is native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

Giant African threadfin Species of fish

The giant African threadfin is a species of ray-finned fish from the threadfin family Polynemidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa.

<i>Polydactylus sexfilis</i> Species of fish

Polydactylus sexfilis, the six-finger threadfin or yellowthread threadfin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a threadfin from the family Polynemidae which is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

King threadfin Species of fish

The King threadfin, also known as the blind salmon, blink tassel-fish, burnett salmon, gold threadfin, king salmon, kingfish, Sheridan threadfin, triped tassel fish, or threadfin salmon, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a threadfin from the family Polynemidae which is found in southern New Guinea and northern Australia.

Longfin grouper Species of fish

The longfin grouper, also known as the longfin rockcod, bar-breasted rock-cod, Gilbert's rock-cod, honeycomb rockcod, spotted groper or wirenet 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 is found in the Western Pacific Ocean.

Slender fusilier Species of fish

The slender fusilier is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a fusilier belonging to the family Caesionidae. It is native to tropical reefs in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean, It is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries. This species is the only known member of its genus.

The blackspotted hawkfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a hawkfish belonging to the family Cirrhitidae. It is native to rocky shores of the western Indian Ocean. This species grows to 17 cm (6.7 in) in total length. This species is the only known member of its genus.

<i>Polynemus multifilis</i> Species of fish

Polynemus multifilis, the elegant paradise fish is a species of ray-finned fish, a threadfin from the family Polynemidae which is found in rivers in southeast Asia.

Polynemus aquilonaris, commonly known as the northern paradise fish, is a fish of the threadfin family Polynemidae. It is native to the large rivers of mainland Southeast Asia.

<i>Polydactylus sextarius</i> Species of fish

Polydactylus sextarius, the blackspot threadfin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a threadfin from the family Polynemidae which is native to the western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans.

<i>Polydactylus plebeius</i> Species of fish

Polydactylus plebeius, the striped threadfin, also known as the common threadfin, Northern threadfin or puttynose, is a species of marine fish native to the Indo-Pacific.

Bidyanus welchi, commonly known as Welch's grunter, black bream, or silver bream, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish from the family Terapontidae native to Australia.

The dwarf paradise fish, also known as the streamer threadfin or streamered tasselfish, is a species of ray-finned fish from a family Polynemidae, the threadfins. It is the only species in the genus Parapolynemus and it is found in Australia and New Guinea.

<i>Polynemus</i> Genus of fishes

Polynemus is a genus of threadfins. They are native to South and Southeast Asia and, depending on the species, occur in freshwater, brackish, and/or marine environments.

Paradise threadfin Species of fish

The paradise threadfin is a species of catadromous ray-finned fish, a threadfin from the family Polynemidae which is found in south and southeast Asia in freshwater rivers where it is a valued food fish.

<i>Filimanus</i> Genus of fishes

Filimanus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, threadfins from the family Polynemidae.

Royal threadfin Species of fish

The royal threadfin is a species of ray-finned fish, a threadfin from the family Polynemidae, the threadfins. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean along the western coast of Africa.

References

  1. 1 2 Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Leptomelanosoma". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "Leptomelanosoma indicum" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hiroyuki Motomura & Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2004). Threadfins of the World (family Polynemidae): An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Polynemid Species Known to Date (PDF). FAO species identification field guide for fishery purposes. 3. Food & Agriculture Org.
  4. ↑ "Polynemidae Threadfins" (PDF). Food & Agriculture Org. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  5. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Polynemus indicum". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 14 April 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.