Malacanthus brevirostris

Last updated

Malacanthus brevirostris
Malacanthidae - Malacanthus brevirostris.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Malacanthidae
Genus: Malacanthus
Species:
M. brevirostris
Binomial name
Malacanthus brevirostris
Guichenot, 1848
Synonyms [1]

Malacanthus brevirostris, the quakerfish, flagtail blanquillo, false whiting or stripetail tilefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.

Contents

Description

Malacanthus brevirostris has a long and slender body, with a rounded head and a large, sharp spine in the centre of the gill cover. [2] It has an overall colour of greyish with a yellow hue on the head. The back is marked within distinct chevron-shaped bars. There are two convergent black stripes, one each on the upper and lower lobes of the caudal fin. [3] There are 1-4 spines and 52-56 soft rays in the dorsal fin while the anal fin contains a single spine and 46-55 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of 32 cm (13 in), although a standard length of 25.6 cm (10.1 in) is more typical. [1]

Distribution

Malacanthus brevirostris has a wide distribution in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It ranges from the Red Sea and the eastern coast of Africa to Hawaii and on to the western coasts of Panama and Colombia, extending north to Japan and south to the Austral Islands and Lord Howe Island. [1] In the eastern Pacific it is also found at the French territory of Clipperton Island, Malpelo Island in Colombia, the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador and Costa Rica’s Cocos Island. [2]

Habitat and biology

Malacanthus brevirostris is associated with reefs at depths between 5 and 50 m (16 and 164 ft). They are largely found in barren and open areas of outer reef slope where they are typically encountered in pairs living on sand in a hole that they have excavated. When threatened, they take refuge into their burrow. They have a pelagic stage to at least 5 cm (2.0 in). [1] They feed on small fishes and invertebrates. [2]

Systematics

Malacanthus brevirostris was first formally described in 1848 by the French zoologist Alphonse Guichenot with the type locality given as Madagascar. [4] The specific name is a compound of brevi meaning ”short” and rostris meaning “snout”, a reference to this species’ relatively short snout compared to its congeners. [5]

Utlilisation

Malacanthus brevirostris is taken by spearfishing, hook-and-line, and traps. It is found in marketsthroughout its range, albeit infrequently, and may be marketed fresh or preserved by salting. [6] It is rare in the aquarium trade. [7]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tilefish</span> Family of fishes

Tilefishes are mostly small perciform marine fish comprising the family Malacanthidae. They are usually found in sandy areas, especially near coral reefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large kelpfish</span> Species of fish

The large kelpfish, the Eastern kelpfish, hiwihiwi, surgefish or kelpfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a kelpfish belonging to the family Chironemidae. It is found in southern Australia, and off the North Island of New Zealand, at depths down to 30 m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scatophagidae</span> Family of fishes

Scatophagidae, the scats are a small family of ray-finned fishes in the order Perciformes. They are found in the Indo-Pacific region but one species has been introduced elsewhere.

<i>Emmelichthys nitidus</i> Species of fish

Emmelichthys nitidus, the Cape bonnetmouth, bonnetmouth, redbait, pearl fish, picarel, red baitfish, red herring or Southern rover, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Emmelichthyidae, the rovers and bonnetmouths. This species is found in the Indian and Pacific oceans. This species is of minor importance to commercial fisheries.

<i>Hoplolatilus starcki</i> Species of fish

Hoplolatilus starcki, Stark's tilefish, purple-headed sand tilefish or bluehead tilefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae. This species is native to the central Indo-Pacific.

<i>Hoplolatilus marcosi</i> Species of fish

Hoplolatilus marcosi, the redback sand tilefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae. It is native to the western central Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean whitefish</span> Species of fish

The ocean whitefish, also known as the ocean tilefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae. It is native to the eastern Pacific Ocean.

<i>Caulolatilus cyanops</i> Species of fish

Caulolatilus cyanops, the blackline tilefish or ocean whitefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf bareye tilefish</span> Species of fish

The Gulf bareye tilefish, also known as the anchor tilefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae. It occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue blanquillo</span> Species of fish

The blue blanquillo, Malacanthus latovittatus, also known as the banded blanquillo, striped blanquillo, false whiting, sand tilefish or eye of the sea, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific.

<i>Branchiostegus</i> Genus of fishes

Branchiostegus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, tilefishes belonging to the family Malacanthidae. They are found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean through the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific Ocean. Here they create burrows in soft substrates in the comparatively deep waters of the continental shelf and slope.

<i>Johnius amblycephalus</i> Species of fish

Johnius amblycephalus, the bearded croaker, also known as the green-backed croaker or sharp-nosed jewfish, is a marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. This fish is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

<i>Caulolatilus chrysops</i> Species of fish

Caulolatilus chrysops, the Atlantic goldeneye tilefish or gold face tilefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae. It occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Lopholatilus villarii</i> Species of fish

Lopholatilus villarii, the tilefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae. It is native to the western South Atlantic Ocean off the coasts of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. This species was first formally described in 1915 by the Brazilian naturalist Alpilio de Miranda Ribeiro (1874-1939) with the type locality given as Praca do Mercado, Brazil. The specific name honours the Brazilian naval captain Frederico Otávio de Lemos Villar (1875-1964) who participated in fisheries research off Brazil.

<i>Malacanthus plumieri</i> Species of fish

Malacanthus plumieri, the sand tilefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.

Branchiostegus paxtoni, or Paxton's tilefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae. It is found in the Eastern Indian Ocean and is known only from a locality 190 km northwest of Port Hedland, Western Australia. This species reaches a length of 25.5 cm (10.0 in).

Branchiostegus gloerfelti, the Australian tilefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae. So far it has only been found in the southwest Sumatra to Bali Strait in Indonesia. This species reaches a length of 25.5 cm (10.0 in).

<i>Branchiostegus wardi</i> Species of fish

Branchiostegus wardi, or Ward's tilefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae. It is found from Australia to New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea. This species reaches a length of 40 cm (16 in).

The yellowtail croaker, also known as the yellowtail jewfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. This species is found in the soutwestern Pacific Ocean off northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Austronibea.

<i>Cheilotrema</i>

Cheilotrema is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Malacanthus brevirostris" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  2. 1 2 3 "Species: Malacanthus brevirostris, Flagtail tilefish, Stripetail tilefish, the Quakerfish". Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  3. Dianne J. Bray. "Malacanthus brevirostris". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  4. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Malacanthus". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  5. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (18 September 2020). eupercaria/ "Series EUPERCARIA (Incertae sedis): Families CALLANTHIIDAE, CENTROGENYIDAE, DINOLESTIDAE, DINOPERCIDAE, EMMELICHTHYIDAE, MALACANTHIDAE, MONODACTYLIDAE, MORONIDAE, PARASCORPIDIDAE, SCIAENIDAE and SILLAGINIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  6. J.K. Dooley. "Branchiostegidae" (PDF). FAO. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  7. "Malacanthus brevirostris". Saltcorner!. Bob Goemans. 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2021.