| Pilot fish | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Near Mangalore, India | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Carangiformes |
| Family: | Carangidae |
| Subfamily: | Naucratinae |
| Genus: | Naucrates Rafinesque, 1810 |
| Species: | N. ductor |
| Binomial name | |
| Naucrates ductor | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
The pilot fish (Naucrates ductor) is a carnivorous fish of the trevally, or jackfish family, Carangidae. [3] It is widely distributed and lives in warm or tropical open seas.
The pilot fish congregates around sharks, rays, and sea turtles, where it eats ectoparasites on, and leftovers around, the host species; [4] younger pilot fish are usually associated with jellyfish and drifting seaweeds. [5] They are also known to follow ships, sometimes for long distances; one was found in County Cork, Ireland, [6] and many pilot fish have been sighted on the shores of England. [7] [8] Their fondness for ships led the ancients[ clarification needed ] to believe that they would navigate a ship to its desired course. [9]
The pilot fish's colour is between dark blue and blackish-silver, with the belly being lighter in colour. [10] [11] [12] The pilot fish is also known to have a temporary variation of colour when excited; its dark-coloured bars disappear, and its body turns silvery-white, with three broad blue patches on its back. [13] It can be recognised by its five to seven distinctive traverse bands, [14] which are of a much darker colour than the rest of the body. [11] The pilot fish can grow up to 60–70 cm in length. [15]
The pilot fish is edible [16] [17] and is said to taste good, [18] [19] but it is rarely available due to its erratic behaviour when caught. [20]
While pilot fish can be seen with all manner of sharks, they prefer accompanying the oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus. [21] The pilot fish's relationship with sharks is a mutualist one; the pilot fish gains protection from predators, while the shark gains freedom from parasites. [22] It was often said by sailors that sharks and pilot fish share something like a "close companionship"; [23] there were even tales of this fish following ships which had captured "their" shark for up to six weeks [24] and showing signs of distress in its absence. [25] [26]
It is rare that a shark will feed on a pilot fish, [27] and smaller pilot fish are frequently observed swimming into sharks' mouths to clean away fragments of food from between their teeth.
There are a few possible, conflicting etymologies for the term "pilot fish". One is that seafaring people believed that pilot fish, which would appear around the bow of their ships when they were close to land, were leading (or piloting) them back to port. [28] An alternative etymology is that pilot fish were once, erroneously, [29] thought to be piloting sharks to food, [30] [31] or even (as legends have it) piloting ships, whales and swimmers to safety. [32]
The pilot fish is sometimes used as a metaphor or simile; "they are like the pilot fish to the shark, serving to lead him to his victim". [33] Pilot fish are also used as a metaphor or simile for scavengers or looters which accompany a greater threat.
In Greek mythology, a sailor called Pompilus helped the nymph Ocyrhoe when she was fleeing away from the god Apollo. The sailor moved the nymph from Miletus to Samos and the god punished him by making him a pilot fish. [34]
Pancrates of Arcadia stated that it was a sacred fish in honour to Poseidon and that it was forbidden to eat it: actually a fisherman called Epopeus ate it and paid for his audacity with his life. [35]
A pilot is a person who flies or navigates an aircraft.
The remora, sometimes called suckerfish or sharksucker, is any of a family (Echeneidae) of ray-finned fish in the order Carangiformes. Depending on species, they grow to 30–110 cm (12–43 in) long. Their distinctive first dorsal fins take the form of a modified oval, sucker-like organ with slat-like structures that open and close to create suction and take a firm hold against the skin of larger marine animals. The disk is made up of stout, flexible membranes that can be raised and lowered to generate suction. By sliding backward, the remora can increase the suction, or it can release itself by swimming forward. Remoras sometimes attach to small boats, and have been observed attaching to divers as well. They swim well on their own, with a sinuous, or curved, motion.
The black sea bass is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the groupers and anthias. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean, where it is an important species for commercial and recreational fisheries.
The Squaliformes are an order of sharks that includes about 126 species in seven families.
The silky shark, also known by numerous names such as blackspot shark, gray whaler shark, olive shark, ridgeback shark, sickle shark, sickle-shaped shark and sickle silk shark, is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, named for the smooth texture of its skin. It is one of the most abundant sharks in the pelagic zone, and can be found around the world in tropical waters. Highly mobile and migratory, this shark is most often found over the edge of the continental shelf down to 50 m (164 ft). The silky shark has a slender, streamlined body and typically grows to a length of 2.5 m. It can be distinguished from other large requiem sharks by its relatively small first dorsal fin with a curving rear margin, its tiny second dorsal fin with a long free rear tip, and its long, sickle-shaped pectoral fins. It is a deep, metallic bronze-gray above and white below.
The great hammerhead is the largest species of hammerhead shark, belonging to the family Sphyrnidae, attaining an average length of 4.6 m (15 ft) and reaching a maximum length of 6.2 m (20 ft). It is found in tropical and warm temperate waters worldwide, inhabiting coastal areas and the continental shelf. The great hammerhead can be distinguished from other hammerheads by the shape of its "hammer", which is wide with an almost straight front margin, and by its tall, sickle-shaped first dorsal fin. A solitary, strong-swimming apex predator, the great hammerhead feeds on a wide variety of prey ranging from crustaceans and cephalopods, to bony fish, to smaller sharks. Observations of this species in the wild suggest that the cephalofoil functions to immobilize stingrays, a favored prey. This species has a viviparous mode of reproduction, bearing litters of up to 50 pups every two years.
Members of the genus Lophius, also sometimes called monkfish, fishing-frogs, frog-fish, and sea-devils, are various species of lophiid anglerfishes found in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Lophius is known as the "monk" or "monkfish" to the North Sea and North Atlantic fishermen, a name which also belongs to Squatina squatina, the angelshark, a type of shark. The North European species is Lophius piscatorius, and the Mediterranean species is Lophius budegassa.
Pleuronectidae, also known as righteye flounders, are a family of flounders. They are called "righteye flounders" because most species lie on the sea bottom on their left sides, with both eyes on their right sides. The Paralichthyidae are the opposite, with their eyes on the left side. A small number of species in Pleuronectidae can also have their eyes on the left side, notably the members of the genus Platichthys.
The Australian ghostshark is a cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes) belonging to the subclass Holocephali (chimaera). Sharks, rays and skates are the other members of the cartilaginous fish group and are grouped under the subclass Elasmobranchii. Alternative names include elephant shark, makorepe, whitefish, plough-nose chimaera, or elephant fish. It is found off southern Australia, including Tasmania, and south of East Cape and Kaipara Harbour in New Zealand, at depths of 0–200 m (0–656 ft). Despite several of its names, it is not a shark, but a member of a closely related group.
Tessarakonteres, or simply "forty", was a very large catamaran galley reportedly built in the Hellenistic period by Ptolemy IV Philopator of Egypt. It was described by a number of ancient sources, including a lost work by Callixenus of Rhodes and surviving texts by Athenaeus and Plutarch. According to these descriptions, supported by modern research by Lionel Casson, the enormous size of the vessel made it impractical and it was built only as a prestige vessel, rather than an effective warship. The name "forty" refers not to the number of oars, but to the number of rowers on each column of oars that propelled it, and at the size described it would have been the largest ship constructed in antiquity, and probably the largest human-powered vessel ever built.
The silvertip shark is a large species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, with a fragmented distribution throughout the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is often encountered around offshore islands and coral reefs, and has been known to dive to a depth of 800 m (2,600 ft). The silvertip shark resembles a larger and bulkier grey reef shark, but can be easily identified by the prominent white margins on its fins. It attains a maximum length of 3 m (10 ft).
The golden trevally, also known as the golden kingfish, banded trevally or king trevally, is a species of large marine fish classified in the jack and horse mackerel family Carangidae, and the only member of the monospecific genus Gnathanodon. The golden trevally is widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, ranging from South Africa in the west to Central America in the east, extending to Japan in the north and Australia in the south. The species predominantly occupies inshore waters where it inhabits both reef and sandy substrates. The golden trevally is easily distinguished from its relatives by its fleshy, rubbery lips and unique colouration, which ranges from bright yellow with black bars as a juvenile to a golden-silvery colour as an adult. It is known to grow to 120 centimetres (47 in) in length and 15 kilograms (33 lb) in weight. The golden trevally schools as a juvenile, often closely following larger objects including sharks and jellyfish. The species uses its protractile jaws to suck out prey from the sand or reef, and consumes a variety of fish, crustaceans and molluscs. Spawning aggregations gather at night at different times of the year throughout its range. The golden trevally is a considerable constituent of several Middle Eastern fisheries and being of minor importance to many others, with a worldwide annual catch of 1,187 metric tons to 3,475 metric tons recorded between 2000 and 2010. The golden trevally is a popular gamefish, taken by bait, lure, fly and also spear throughout its range. Several Asian countries currently farm the fish in caged aquaculture. Due to their brilliant colouration, juveniles are popular in marine aquaria.
The draughtsboard shark is a species of catshark, and part of the family Scyliorhinidae, so named for its "checkerboard" colour pattern of dark blotches. It is endemic to New Zealand, where it is also known as the carpet shark. This shark typically reaches 1 m (3.3 ft) in length and has a thick body with a broad, flattened head and a capacious mouth. Its two dorsal fins are placed far back on the body, with the first much larger than the second.
Bawarij were Sindhi pirates named for their distinctive barja warships who were active between 251 and 865 AD. They looted Arab shipping bound for the Indian subcontinent and China, but entirely converted to Islam during the rule of the Samma dynasty (1335–1520). They are mentioned by Ma'sudi as frequenting the pirate den at Socotra and other scholars describes them as pirates and sailors of Sindh. Their frequent piracy and the incident in which they looted two treasure ships coming from Ceylon became the casus belli for the Umayyad conquest of Sindh.
The common remora is a pelagic marine fish belonging to the family Echeneidae. The dorsal fin, which has 22 to 26 soft rays, acts as a suction cup, creating a vacuum to allow the fish to attach to larger marine animals, such as whales, dolphins, sharks, and sea turtles.
Coral reef fish are fish which live amongst or in close relation to coral reefs. Coral reefs form complex ecosystems with tremendous biodiversity. Among the myriad inhabitants, the fish stand out as colourful and interesting to watch. Hundreds of species can exist in a small area of a healthy reef, many of them hidden or well camouflaged. Reef fish have developed many ingenious specialisations adapted to survival on the reefs.
The live sharksucker or slender sharksucker is a species of marine fish in the family Echeneidae, the remoras.
The whitefin sharksucker or short-disk sharksucker, is a species of remora native to subtropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. This fish can reach a length of 75 centimetres (30 in) TL though most fish do not exceed 50 centimetres (20 in) TL. It can be free-swimming, or can attach itself to a host fish or turtle by means of a sucker on the back of the head.
Adelosebastes is a monotypic genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, the rockfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. The only species in this genus is Adelosebastes latens, the Aleutian scorpionfish. It is found in the northern Pacific Ocean.
The tidepool sculpin is a fish species in the sculpin family Cottidae that ranges from the Bering Sea to southern California. Individuals reach up to 8 cm (3 in) in length and are common in tidepools.
The pilot-fish has been so often seen, and occasionally taken on our southern coast, as to be entitled to a place among British Fishes[.]
[The pilot fish is] supposed by the ancients to have pointed out to navigators their desired course, and borne them company during their voyage.
They take the hook readily, but go quite insane when hooked, and are difficult to land in spite of their size, 6 to 16 inches.
It seems that Naucrates acts as a guide for the sharks, and that the latter, in recognition of its services, never pursue it.
Seafaring people observe that this fish frequently accompanies their vessels; and, as they see it generally towards the fore part of the ship, they imagined that it was guiding and tracing out the course of the vessel, and hence it received the name of pilot-fish.
The pilot-fish ought here also to be noticed: this [...] is said not only to feed upon the gills of the shark, but to direct it to its prey, from which singularity originates its name.
