Hardyhead silverside
| Hardyhead silverside | |
|---|---|
.gif) |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Atheriniformes |
| Family: | Atherinidae |
| Genus: | Atherinomorus |
| Species: | A. lacunosus |
| Binomial name | |
|
Atherinomorus lacunosus (J. R. Forster, 1801) |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
|
The hardyhead silverside (Atherinomorus lacunosus), also known as the broad-banded hardyhead, broad-banded silverside, Capricorn hardyhead, pitted hardyhead, robust hardyhead, robust silverside, slender hardyhead and wide-banded hardyhead silverside, is a silverside of the family Atherinidae. It occurs in the Indo-Pacific near the surfaceas well as in the Mediterranean, having invaded as a Lessepsian migrant through the Suez Canal.
The hardyhead silverside is a robust, broad headed, small fish which is distinguished by having a very low and wide lateral process of premaxilla with the upper margin of the anterior bone of the lower jaw which bears the teeth is almost flat distally and has no distinct tubercle at its posterior end. The posterior of the jaw reaches at least as far as the vertical through anterior margin of the pupil. The mouth has small teeth on palate which do not form obvious ridges. The anus is usually behind but close to the posterior tip of the pelvic fin. There are 18-24 lower gill rakers and the midlateral scale count is 40-44. The lower edge of the midlateral band reaches below the ventral end of the third scale row and nearly extends to the center of the fourth scale row where it is level with the origin of the anal fin. The dorsal fin has 5-8 spines and 9-10 soft rays while the anal fin has 1 spine and 12-17 soft rays and it has 43-44 vertebrae. They can grow up to 14 cm but are more usually in the range 10–12 cm. Freshly caught specimens are overall silvery in colour, tending to greenish on the dorsal area but with a bright blue strip along the flank, dusky fins and a translucent appearance when seen live in the water.
The hardyhead silverside has an Indo-Pacific distribution which extends from the eastern coasts of Africa east to Tonga, north as far as southern Japan, and south to northern Australia; it appears to be absent in the Andaman Sea and to be replaced by Atherinomorus insularum in Hawaii. It was the second species of Red Sea creature, following Pampus argenteus, to be recorded in the Mediterranean Sea following the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, being reported by Tillier in 1902 and had spread north westwards as far as Greece.
...
Wikipedia