Crested oarfish

The crested oarfish (Lophotus lacepede) is a species of crestfish in the family Lophotidae. It is an oceanodromous fish ranging from waters 0–92 meters deep, but may get stranded in shallow waters.[1][2][3][4]

Crested oarfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Lampriformes
Family:
Lophotidae
Genus:
Lophotus
Species:
L. lacepede
Binomial name
Lophotus lacepede
Giorna, 1809

Distribution and habitat

The crested oarfish lives in warm seas, near areas such as the Western Atlantic, Western Indian Ocean, Eastern Atlantic, and the Eastern Pacific, in the oceanic and mesopelagic zone.[1]

Description and ecology

They have a maximum length of 200 centimeters, but are often are only 100 centimeters in length.[1] It has an ink sack near the cloaca, and discharges ink out of it when it feels alarmed. Its prey are squids, and fishes such as anchovies. It is oviparous, and lays planktonic eggs.[5]

Conservation

The crested oarfish are likely found in marine protected areas, and have no specific conservation measures in place, and no specific threats. The IUCN Red List lists this as a least concern species.[5]

A crested oarfish at the Dubrovnik Nautral History Museum

Synonymised names

Placed by the WoRMS.[6]

  • Leptopus peregrinus Rafinesque, 1814
  • Lophotes cristatus Johnson, 1863 (misspelling)
  • Lophotus cepedianus Cloquet, 1823
  • Lophotus cristatus Johnson, 1863
  • Lophotus lacepedei Giorna, 1809 (misspelling)

References
  1. "Lophotus lacepede summary page". FishBase. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  2. "Taxonomy Browser". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. U.S.: National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  3. Ahnelt, Harald; Dulčić, Jakov (2007). "How many specimens of the crested oarfish, Lophotus lacepede Giorna, 1809 (Pisces: Lophotidae), were caught in the Adriatic Sea?". Acta Adriatica. 48 (1): 39–43.
  4. Economidis, Panos S.; Karidas, Theofanis; Minos, George (2015). "Range extension for crested oarfish Lophotus lacepede Giorna, 1809 in the waters of the northern Aegean Sea, Greece". Acta Adriatica. 56 (2): 283–289.
  5. "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  6. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Lophotus lacepede Giorna, 1809". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
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