Centriscidae
Razorfish, Aeoliscus strigatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Syngnathiformes Family: Centriscidae
Subfamilies
Centriscinae Macroramphosinae See text for genera and species.

Centriscidae is the family of snipefishes, shrimpfishes, and bellowfishes.^[1] A small family, consisting of only about a dozen marine species found in the Indo-Pacific area, they are of an unusual appearance, as reflected by the common names.

The bodies are highly compressed, and mostly covered with bony plates. The first spine of the dorsal fin is long and sharp, and displaced to the rear of the body; two additional spines, the rest of the dorsal fin, and the caudal fin have all moved to the ventral side of the fish. The snout is also long and narrow, and the small mouth at the end has no teeth. All types are small, no more than 15 cm.

As if the shape were not strange enough, centriscids also swim head down. The reason for this is unclear; while some species blend in with sea grass, others live on coral reefs, where there is no apparent advantage to vertical positioning. They feed on zooplankton.

Species

There are thirteen species in five genera and two subfamilies. In some classifications the subfamily Macroramphosinae is raised to the level of family, Macroramphosidae.^[2] The placement of the genus Centriscops is unclear: ITIS places it in Macroramphosinae^[2] but FishBase places it in Centriscinae.^[3]

• Subfamily Centriscinae (shrimpfishes)
  • Genus Aeoliscus
    • Speckled shrimpfish, Aeoliscus punctulatus (Bianconi, 1855).
    • Razorfish, Aeoliscus strigatus (Günther, 1861).
  • Genus Centriscops
    • Banded yellowfish, Centriscops humerosus (Richardson, 1846).
  • Genus Centriscus
    • Smooth razor-fish, Centriscus cristatus (De Vis, 1885).
    • Grooved razor-fish, Centriscus scutatus Linnaeus, 1758.
• Subfamily Macroramphosinae (snipefishes)
  • Genus Macroramphosus
    • Slender snipefish or snipefish, Macroramphosus gracilis (Lowe, 1839).
    • Longspine snipefish, bellowfish, common bellowsfish, snipe-fish , snipefish, spine trumpet fish or trumpetfish, Macroramphosus scolopax (Linnaeus, 1758).
      

      Longspine snipefish, Macroramphosus scolopax
  • Genus Notopogon
    • Notopogon armatus (Sauvage, 1879).
    • Notopogon endeavouri Mohr, 1937.
    • Orange bellowsfish, Notopogon fernandezianus (Delfin, 1899).
    • Crested bellowfish, Notopogon lilliei Regan, 1914.
    • Longsnout bellowfish, Notopogon macrosolen Barnard, 1925.
    • Longspine bellowfish, Notopogon xenosoma Regan, 1914.

References

1. "Centriscidae". FishBase. Ed. Rainer Froese and Daniel Pauly. February 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
2. ^{a b} Macroramphosidae (TSN 644842). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 3 April 2006.
3. "Centriscops humerosus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. February 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Centriscidae". Image Credit.

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