''Centriscus cristatus'', also known as the smooth razorfish or wafer shrimpfish, is the largest 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 reflecte ...

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 sur ...

. It is found in the eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

Description

The smooth razorfish possesses a body at the same time very stretched and compressed laterally, it can reach a size of maximum . Its snout is long and tubular. Its fins are translucent and the dorsal spine is rigid. Its body coloration is bright silver with a dusky to yellow middle line and with bluish streaks perpendicular to the median line.

Distribution and habitat

''Centriscus cristatus'' is found in the central Indo-Pacific area between in the west the western Indonesia until the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

to the east, and the Australian shore (west, north and east)

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included for the southern limit to the south Japan in the northern limit.Allen, G.R. and M.V. Erdmann, 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth, Australia: University of Hawai'i Press, Volumes I-III. Tropical Reef Research. This is a

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

coastal species which occurs in estuarine brackish waters, gorgonian fields, and

seagrass 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 ...

beds. It can be found in waters of less than .

Biology

It occurs solitary or in small groups, swimming head down but can adopt a horizontal fast swimming posture in case of danger. It feeds on small planktonic crustaceans, particularly

amphipoda Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far desc ...

and

mysids Mysida is an order of small, shrimp-like crustaceans in the malacostracan superorder Peracarida. Their common name opossum shrimps stems from the presence of a brood pouch or "marsupium" in females. The fact that the larvae are reared in this ...

. Its breeding biology is little known and requires more study but it 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 ...

with

planktonic Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucia ...

eggs and larvae.

Conservation

''Centriscus cristatus'' has a widespread distribution but the species may be in decline due to habitat loss as seagrass beds are destroyed or degraded. Although this threat has not been measured throughout its range and the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

list the species as

Data Deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

. Both species of ''

Centriscus ''Centriscus'' is a genus of shrimpfishes found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Species Currently, two recognized species are placed in this genus: * '' Centriscus cristatus'' (De Vis, 1885) (smooth razorfish) * ''Centriscus scutatus'' Linnaeu ...

'' are sought after by the aquarium hobby but the effects of this trade are unknown.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1054234 Centriscidae Taxa named by Charles Walter De Vis Fish described in 1885