THE STEINHART AQUARIUM - Gulf of Guinea Science ...

Flashlight Fish aka Eyelight Fish
Photoblepharon palpebratus (Anomalopidae)
Flashlightfishes
Distribution: Philippines to Society Islands,
north to Marshall Islands, south to Great Barrier
Reef.
Habitat: Only observed on “moonless” nights
on seaward reefs near or along steep drop offs
with caves. 7 to more than 30 m. Hide in caverns
during the day.
Appearance: Length to 12 cm. Black with
blunt snout, large mouth and a forked tail.
Luminous lime-green light organ under the
eyes is diagnostic.
Diet: Zooplankton; small fish, crabs, and
shrimp. Usually feeds in large groups away
from the reefs at night.
Reproduction and Development: The bacteria
shine only in the light organs of adults.
Remarks: A lime-green light is produced
biochemically by symbiotic bacteria that live
within the light organs below the fish’s eyes.
The light attracts prey. The light may also allow
this fish to observe prey, confuse predators
and be a means of conspecific communication.
(The function of bioluminescence is very much
a hot topic).
A flap of skin moves over the light organ to
“turn it off or on.”
Soldierfish
Myripristis sp. (Holocentridae) Squirrelfishes
and Soldierfishes
Distribution: Indonesia and the Philippines
to the Hawaiian Islands, north to the Ryukyu
Islands, south to New Caledonia.
Habitat: Reef flats and seaward slopes, 2–52
m. By day often school in large aggregations
inside caves or under ledges and boulders.
Non-migratory.
Appearance: Red with dark scale margins, red
dorsal, anal and caudal fins; dark margin on
posterior of gill cover. Length to 32 cm. Large
eyes.
Diet: Feed mainly on polychaete worms; also
on crabs, hermit crabs, and shrimp larvae.
Reproduction and Development: Fertilization
external. Parents do not guard eggs.
California Academy of Sciences
ORDER INCERTAE SEDIS
123
Everglades Pygmy Sunfish
Elassoma evergladei (Elassomatidae)
Pygmy Sunfishes
Distribution: Southeastern U.S.
Habitat: Mostly temperate to subtropical
freshwater swamps, marshes, and other
shallow, slow-moving and densely vegetated
waters.
Appearance: Females, young, and nonbreeding
males are a drab yellowish color with
dark mottling, easily mistaken for dead leaves
or the vegetation they use for cover. Breeding
males are more colorful, turning almost black
with iridescent blue spots.
Diet: Worms, crustaceans, and aquatic
insects.
Reproduction and Development: To attract
mates, males make elaborate courtship
displays that include walking on their fins and
dancing a fishy version of the twist. Females
lay eggs on or in dense vegetation; the male
guards the nest area until the fry hatch and
scatter. Mature into young adults at about
three months and begin spawning in about six
months, usually in March and April.
Mortality/Longevity: Life span: ~ 1 year.
Remarks: The pygmy sunfishes are not true
sunfishes (Centrachidae).
ORDER SYNGATHIFORMES
Shrimpfish aka Razorfish
Aeoliscus strigatus (Centriscidae)
Snipefishes and Shrimpfishes
Distribution: Indian and western Pacific
oceans; Aldabra Atoll and Seychelles Islands
to New Caledonia, north to southern Japan ;
south to Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
Habitat: In small groups, swim and rest with
head down near long-spined sea urchins,
branching corals or other hiding places to 42 m.
Appearance: Length to 15 cm. Very thin body,
ventral keel surrounded with contorted bony
plates, long tubular snout. Coloration is silvery
with brown mid-lateral stripe. In adults the
trunk forms a long, powerful, flexible spine.
Diet: Minute planktonic crustaceans.
Remarks: The vertical resting posture of