''Aeoliscus punctulatus'', also known as the speckled shrimpfish or jointed razorfish, is a member of the family
Centriscidae of the order
Syngnathiformes (the
pipefishes and
seahorses). This fish adopts a head-down, tail-up position as an
adaptation
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
for hiding among
sea urchin
Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...
spines. This fish is found in coastal waters in the Indo-West Pacific. Its natural habitat includes beds of
seagrass and
coral reefs, where
sea urchins are found.
Description
The speckled shrimpfish is a slender fish that attains a maximum length of . Its snout is long and tubular and used to suck in its planktonic prey. Its body is flattened with a keel on the ventral surface and is covered in bony plates. The dorsal fin has three spines and ten to eleven soft rays and its anal fin has twelve to thirteen soft rays. It is a transparent pale greenish colour with a brown lateral stripe and a scattering of small black spots.
Distribution
The speckled shrimpfish is native to the coast of East Africa and the western Indian Ocean. Its range extends from
Algoa Bay
Algoa Bay is a maritime bay in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is located in the east coast, east of the Cape of Good Hope.
Algoa Bay is bounded in the west by Cape Recife and in the east by Cape Padrone. The bay is up to deep. The harbour c ...
, South Africa to
Madagascar, the
Red Sea, the
Persian Gulf, the
Seychelles and the
Maldive Islands.
[ It is found intertidally on sandy flats and in seagrass meadows down to a depth of about .][
]
Biology
The speckled shrimpfish swims in a head down position. It feeds on plankton and is found drifting in small groups in seagrass beds, among the branches of corals and the spines of long-spined sea urchins.[
]
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1509686
Centriscidae
Fish described in 1854
Taxa named by Giovanni Giuseppe Bianconi