Histrio histrio, a strange-looking fish, blends well with its surroundings in its seaweed habitat. It is laterally compressed and its length can reach 20 cm (7.9 in). The colour of the body and the large oral cavity is very variable, but is usually mottled and spotted yellow, green, and brown on a paler background, and the fins often have several dark streaks or bands. The fish can change colour rapidly, from light to dark and back again.[3] The body and the fins are covered with many weed-like protrusions, but other than these, the skin is smooth without dermal spines. The dorsal fin has three spines and 11–13 soft rays. The front spine is modified into a slender growth on the upper lip known as an illicium, which is tipped by a fleshy lump, the esca. The junction between the head and body is indistinct because no gill slits are present; the gills open as pores near the base of the pectoral fins.[6] The anal fin has no spines and seven to 13 soft rays. The pelvic fins are large and the pectoral fins have 9-11 rays and are stalked and able to grip objects. The outer rays of the tail fin are simple, but the central rays are forked.[3][7][8]
The sargassum fish has a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and subtropical seas down to a depth around 10 m (33 ft). It is found in parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Indo-Pacific Ocean, where drifting seaweed accumulates. In the western Atlantic, it ranges from the Gulf of Maine south to Uruguay. It has been reported from northern Norway, but that sighting is likely to be as a result of its having been carried along by the North Atlantic Current.[2][3]
Biology
The sargassum fish is a voracious ambush predator that is also a cannibal.[3] One individual was dissected and found to have 16 juveniles in its stomach.[8] It stalks its prey among the tangled weeds, relying on its cryptic camouflage for concealment. It can clamber through and cling to the seaweed stalks with its prehensile pectoral fins. It dangles its esca as a fishing lure to attract small fish, shrimp, and other invertebrates. It is able to dart forward to grab its prey by expelling water forcibly through its gill openings. It can expand its mouth to many times its original size in a fraction of a second, drawing prey in via suction, and can swallow prey larger than itself.[8]
It is dioecious. At breeding time, the male courts the female by following her around closely. When ready to spawn, the female ascends rapidly to the surface, where she lays a mass of eggs stuck together by gelatinous mucus. This egg raft adheres to the seaweed, where it is fertilised by the male. On hatching, each larva is surrounded by an integumentary envelope and has a large, rounded head, fully formed fins, and eyes with double notches. As the larva develops into a juvenile, this envelope fuses with the skin.[6]
This fish is preyed on by larger fish and sea birds. To avoid underwater threats, it can leap above the surface onto mats of weed. It can survive for some time out of water.[6]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Histrio histrio.
Wikispecies has information related to Histrio histrio.
^ abcdeFrogfish (Histrio histrio) Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
^Ayling, Tony; Geoffrey Cox (1982). Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand. Auckland, New Zealand: William Collins Publishers. ISBN0-00-216987-8.
^Histrio Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
^ abcBiological profiles: Sargassumfish Florida Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
^Histrio histrio - (Linnaeus, 1758) FishBase. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
^ abcNature's Fast Feeder: The Frogfish Bahamas Wildlife. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
January 31, 2023
sargassum, fish, sargassum, fish, anglerfish, frog, fish, histrio, histrio, frogfish, family, antennariidae, only, species, genus, lives, among, sargassum, seaweed, which, floats, subtropical, oceans, scientific, name, comes, from, latin, histrio, meaning, sta. The sargassum fish anglerfish or frog fish Histrio histrio 3 is a frogfish of the family Antennariidae the only species in its genus It lives among Sargassum seaweed which floats in subtropical oceans 4 The scientific name comes from the Latin histrio meaning a stage player or actor and refers to the fish s feeding behaviour 5 Sargassum fishA well camouflaged fishConservation statusLeast Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass ActinopterygiiOrder LophiiformesFamily AntennariidaeSubfamily AntennariinaeGenus HistrioG Fischer 1813Species H histrioBinomial nameHistrio histrioLinnaeus 1758 2 Contents 1 Description 2 Distribution and habitat 3 Biology 4 ReferencesDescription Edit Illustration of a sargassum fish Histrio histrio a strange looking fish blends well with its surroundings in its seaweed habitat It is laterally compressed and its length can reach 20 cm 7 9 in The colour of the body and the large oral cavity is very variable but is usually mottled and spotted yellow green and brown on a paler background and the fins often have several dark streaks or bands The fish can change colour rapidly from light to dark and back again 3 The body and the fins are covered with many weed like protrusions but other than these the skin is smooth without dermal spines The dorsal fin has three spines and 11 13 soft rays The front spine is modified into a slender growth on the upper lip known as an illicium which is tipped by a fleshy lump the esca The junction between the head and body is indistinct because no gill slits are present the gills open as pores near the base of the pectoral fins 6 The anal fin has no spines and seven to 13 soft rays The pelvic fins are large and the pectoral fins have 9 11 rays and are stalked and able to grip objects The outer rays of the tail fin are simple but the central rays are forked 3 7 8 Distribution and habitat EditSee also Ocean surface ecosystem The sargassum fish has a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and subtropical seas down to a depth around 10 m 33 ft It is found in parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Indo Pacific Ocean where drifting seaweed accumulates In the western Atlantic it ranges from the Gulf of Maine south to Uruguay It has been reported from northern Norway but that sighting is likely to be as a result of its having been carried along by the North Atlantic Current 2 3 Biology EditThe sargassum fish is a voracious ambush predator that is also a cannibal 3 One individual was dissected and found to have 16 juveniles in its stomach 8 It stalks its prey among the tangled weeds relying on its cryptic camouflage for concealment It can clamber through and cling to the seaweed stalks with its prehensile pectoral fins It dangles its esca as a fishing lure to attract small fish shrimp and other invertebrates It is able to dart forward to grab its prey by expelling water forcibly through its gill openings It can expand its mouth to many times its original size in a fraction of a second drawing prey in via suction and can swallow prey larger than itself 8 It is dioecious At breeding time the male courts the female by following her around closely When ready to spawn the female ascends rapidly to the surface where she lays a mass of eggs stuck together by gelatinous mucus This egg raft adheres to the seaweed where it is fertilised by the male On hatching each larva is surrounded by an integumentary envelope and has a large rounded head fully formed fins and eyes with double notches As the larva develops into a juvenile this envelope fuses with the skin 6 This fish is preyed on by larger fish and sea birds To avoid underwater threats it can leap above the surface onto mats of weed It can survive for some time out of water 6 References Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Histrio histrio Wikispecies has information related to Histrio histrio NatureServe 2015 Histrio histrio IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015 Retrieved April 7 2016 old form url a b Bailly Nicolas 2010 Histrio histrio Linnaeus 1758 WoRMS World Register of Marine Species Retrieved 2012 01 04 a b c d e Frogfish Histrio histrio Marine Species Identification Portal Retrieved 2012 01 04 Ayling Tony Geoffrey Cox 1982 Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand Auckland New Zealand William Collins Publishers ISBN 0 00 216987 8 Histrio Charlton T Lewis Charles Short A Latin Dictionary Retrieved 2012 01 04 a b c Biological profiles Sargassumfish Florida Museum of Natural History Retrieved 2012 01 04 Histrio histrio Linnaeus 1758 FishBase Retrieved 2012 01 04 a b c Nature s Fast Feeder The Frogfish Bahamas Wildlife Retrieved 2012 01 04 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sargassum fish amp oldid 1060797458, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
