The Hawaiian sea-moth fish (''Eurypegasus papilio'') is a species of
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
in the family
Pegasidae
The seamoths make up a family of fishes, the Pegasidae, within the order Syngnathiformes. They are named for Pegasus, a creature from Greek mythology. Seamoths are notable for their unusual appearance, including flattened bodies, the presence of ...
. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
. The only other species in the genus is
''Eurypegasus draconis''.
Distribution and Habitat
This species is endemic to the Hawaiian islands but not much is known about its biology.
They are
demersal
The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...
and sometimes collected by fishing trawls, with ranges from 80-291 meters.
Anatomy
''Eurypegasus papilio'' generally have 8 tail rings and reaches 7.6 cm.
Their bodies are flat and encased in bone plates, believed to be for protection against predators. They shed their armor to get rid of parasites up to once every 5 days.
They have an interesting feeding mechanism that involves their jaws. Their jaws cannot be seen when their mouths are closed due to being covered by the lachrymal and being tucked in a cavity made by the nasal rostrum. The upper jaw unfolds when the lower jaw sinks, which makes the oral cavity expand and form a tube.
This tube mouth is then used by the ''Eurypegasus papilio'' to suck up their prey, which happens to be tiny
invertebrates
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 ...
living in their demersal habitat.
Reproduction
''Eurypegasus papilio'' reproduces through
spawning.
See also
*
Eurypegasus
''Eurypegasus'' is one of two genera of seamoths in the family Pegasidae. Species in this genus are native to the Indian and Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends fro ...
*
Little Dragonfish
The little dragonfish or short dragonfish (''Eurypegasus draconis'') is a species of marine fish in the Family (biology), family Pegasidae. It is widespread throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, including the Red Sea.
The little dr ...
References
* Vincent, A. 1996.
Eurypegasus papilio 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 4 August 2007.
Eurypegasus
Fish described in 1905
Endemic fauna of Hawaii
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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