''Aeoliscus strigatus'', also known as the razorfish, jointed razorfish or coral shrimpfish, is a member of the family

Centriscidae The Centriscidae are a family of fishes from the order Syngnathiformes which includes the snipefishes, shrimpfishes, and bellowfishes. A small family, consisting of only about a dozen marine species, they are of an unusual appearance, as refle ...

of the order

Syngnathiformes The Syngnathiformes are an order of ray-finned fishes that includes the trumpetfishes and seahorses.FishBase (2005)Order Summary for Syngnathiformes Version of 2005-FEB-15. Retrieved 19 Aug 2008. These fishes have elongated, narrow, bodies surr ...

. This unique 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."Eyewitness handbooks Aquarium Fish: The visual guide to more than 500 marine and freshwater fish varieties" By Dick Mills. Page 283 The razorfish is found in coastal waters in the Indo-West Pacific. Its natural habitat includes beds of

sea grass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the orde ...

and

coral reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of Colony (biology), colonies of coral polyp (zoology), polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, wh ...

, where

sea urchins 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 ...

are found.

Description

The razorfish is easily identifiable due to its particular body shape as well as its way of moving in synchrone group head down. It is a small fish with a maximum size of long, its body is stretched ending by a long fine "beak". Its

fins A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

are considerably reduced and transparent. The dorsal surface of the razorfish is covered by protective bony plates. They extend past the end of the body and over the tail fin, which terminates in a sharp spine. A black to brown median band runs the length of the fish crossing also the eyes. The color of the body is variable with the habitat. In seagrass environment, the background color of the body can be greenish-yellow with light brown stripes. In open areas like sand patch, rubble or close to coral reef, then the body coloration occurs to be light silver with a black to brown stripe. There is no known

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

Ecology

The razorfish eats mainly small

brine shrimp ''Artemia'' is a genus of aquatic crustaceans also known as brine shrimp. It is the only genus in the family Artemiidae. The first historical record of the existence of ''Artemia'' dates back to the first half of the 10th century AD from Urmia La ...

and other small

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s. They have also been known to eat minute crustaceans.Aeoliscus strigatus – Jointed Razorfish – Discover Life
/ref> In the wild they have been observed hiding in the spines of

s, both as a defense mechanism and as a hunting mechanism. When threatened by larger fish, the razorfish darts away to a nearby

or staghorn coral for protection. Razorfish hunt among sea urchin spines, especially those of the genus '' Diadema'', and wait for small invertebrates that feed on the urchins. When their prey gets close, the razorfish will dart out and try to catch its dinner. This species is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

and the eggs and larvae are

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...

, the juveniles settle when they attain in length, frequently choosing to live among the spines of ''Diadema'' sea urchins.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aeoliscus Strigatus Centriscidae Taxa named by Albert Günther Fish described in 1861