Biology:Prowfish

From HandWiki
Short description: Species of fish

Prowfish
Prowfish.jpg
Zaprora silenus.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Zaproridae
Jordan and Evermann, 1898
Genus: Zaprora
Jordan, 1896
Species:
Z. silenus
Binomial name
Zaprora silenus
Jordan, 1896

The prowfish (Zaprora silenus) is a species of scorpaeniform marine fish found in the northern Pacific Ocean. It is the only extant member of the family, Zaproridae. Another species, Araeosteus rothi, is known from Late Miocene marine strata in Southern California.

Prowfish range from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska west to Kamchatka, Russia ; from Navarin Canyon in the Bering Sea south to Hokkaidō, Japan and Monterey, California . An otherwise little-known species, prowfish are important to subsistence fisheries in remote regions.

Adult prowfish

Growing to a length of 88 cm (35 in), prowfish have stout, laterally compressed and elongated bodies. They have single, somewhat high dorsal fin running nearly the entire length of the back; it may contain 54–58 pliable spines. The anal fin is also fairly extensive. The tail fin is large, rounded and truncated; the pectoral fins are enlarged and pelvic fins are conspicuously absent. The mouth is slightly upturned with small, closely set, sharp teeth confined to the jaws. The head is convex, ending in a projecting snout. This explains the family name Zaproridae; from the Greek za, an intensifier, and prora meaning "prow". The species name silneus is a reference to Silenus, a figure in Greek mythology.

The distinctive head of the prowfish also features a number of sensory pores made all the more obvious by fringes of blue or white. Prowfish have small ctenoid scales and a variable coloration; typically, they are bluish-grey to olive brown with small dark spots, grading to lighter shades ventrally. The lateral line and swim bladder are absent.

left|thumb|300px|Juvenile

Prowfish prefer rocky substrates and range from relatively shallow waters to 675 m (2,215 ft). They are benthic animals spending most of their time on or near the bottom. Their diet consists principally of scyphozoans and salps; prowfish use their large mouths to tear chunks from the bells of jellyfish and ctenophores. Prowfish may also eat smaller fish and amphipods; however, juveniles feed exclusively on jellyfish. Larger skates and Pacific halibut are known predators of prowfish.

Little is known of prowfish reproduction, but juveniles have been observed to be pelagic; unlike adults, they spend their time in the middle levels of the water column, closely associated with their jellyfish prey. Indeed, juvenile prowfish will seek shelter from prey within the bells of larger jellies. This behaviour has led to their confusion with the medusafish (Icichthys lockingtoni) of the family Centrolophidae. Most female prowfish are thought to reach maturity at around five years. There is little sexual dimorphism; females are slightly heavier for their length.

Timeline

<timeline> ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px

Period = from:-65.5 till:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:-65.5 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-65.5 TimeAxis = orientation:hor AlignBars = justify

Colors =

#legends
 id:CAR	  value:claret
 id:ANK 	 value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196)
 id:HER	  value:teal
 id:HAD	  value:green
 id:OMN	  value:blue
 id:black        value:black
 id:white        value:white
 id:cenozoic     value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258)
 id:paleogene     value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32) 
 id:paleocene     value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37) 
 id:eocene     value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42) 
 id:oligocene     value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48) 
 id:neogene     value:rgb(0.999999,0.9,0.1) 
 id:miocene     value:rgb(0.999999,0.999999,0) 
 id:pliocene     value:rgb(0.97,0.98,0.68)  
 id:quaternary   value:rgb(0.98,0.98,0.5)
 id:pleistocene   value:rgb(0.999999,0.95,0.68)
 id:holocene   value:rgb(0.999,0.95,0.88)

BarData=

bar:eratop
bar:space
bar:periodtop
bar:space
bar:NAM1
bar:space
bar:period
bar:space
bar:era

PlotData=

align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 
shift:(7,-4)
 
bar:periodtop
from: -65.5   till:  -55.8    color:paleocene  text:Paleocene
from: -55.8   till:  -33.9    color:eocene  text:Eocene 
from: -33.9   till:  -23.03    color:oligocene  text:Oligocene            
from: -23.03    till: -5.332    color:miocene    text:Miocene
from: -5.332    till: -2.588    color:pliocene    text:Plio.
from: -2.588    till: -0.0117   color:pleistocene    text:Pleist.
from: -0.0117    till: 0    color:holocene    text:H.
bar:eratop
from: -65.5   till:  -23.03    color:paleogene  text:Paleogene         
from: -23.03    till: -2.588    color:neogene    text:Neogene
from: -2.588    till: 0   color:quaternary    text:Q.

PlotData=

align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left
color:miocene bar:NAM1  from:	-11.608	till:	0	text:	Araeosteus

PlotData=

align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25
bar:period
from: -65.5   till:  -55.8    color:paleocene  text:Paleocene
from: -55.8   till:  -33.9    color:eocene  text:Eocene 
from: -33.9   till:  -23.03    color:oligocene  text:Oligocene            
from: -23.03    till: -5.332    color:miocene    text:Miocene
from: -5.332    till: -2.588    color:pliocene    text:Plio.
from: -2.588    till: -0.0117   color:pleistocene    text:Pleist.
from: -0.0117    till: 0    color:holocene    text:H.
bar:era
from: -65.5   till:  -23.03    color:paleogene  text:Paleogene         
from: -23.03    till: -2.588    color:neogene    text:Neogene
from: -2.588    till: 0   color:quaternary    text:Q.

</timeline>

See also

References

Wikidata ☰ Q135033 entry