Superregnum : Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis/Classis: Actinopterygii
Classis/Subclassis: Actinopteri
Subclassis/Infraclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Megacohors: Osteoglossocephalai
Supercohors: Clupeocephala
Cohors: Euteleosteomorpha
Subcohors: Neoteleostei
Infracohors: Eurypterygia
Sectio: Ctenosquamata
Subsectio: Acanthomorphata
Divisio/Superordo: Acanthopterygii
Ordo: Syngnathiformes
Familia: Centriscidae
Subfamilia: Centriscinae
Genus: Aeoliscus
Species: Aeoliscus punctulatus
Name
Aeoliscus punctulatus (Bianconi, 1854)
Type locality: Mozambique (Western Indian Ocean)
No types known.
Synonyms
Aeoliscus punctatus (Kner, 1860)
Amphisile punctata Kner, 1860
Amphisile punctulata Bianconi, 1854
Amphisyle brevispina Peters, 1855
Centriscus punctulatus (Bianconi, 1854)
References
Bianconi, G.G. 1854: Specimina zoologica mosambicana quibus vel novae vel minus notae animalium species illustrantur. Bononiae. 1850-1870.: 1–363, 48 col pls.
Dor, M. 1984: Checklist of the fishes of the Red Sea. Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.: i-xxii, map + 1-437.
Links
Aeoliscus punctulatus – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Aeoliscus punctulatus in the World Register of Marine Species
Aeoliscus punctulatus in FishBase,
Froese, R. & Pauly, D. (eds.) 2022. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication, www.fishbase.org, version 08/2021.
Aeoliscus punctulatus in Catalog of Fishes, Eschmeyer, W.N., Fricke, R. & van der Laan, R. (eds.) 2022. Catalog of Fishes electronic version.
Vernacular names
Afrikaans: Garnaalvis
Deutsch: Gepunkteter Schnepfenmesserfisch
English: Speckled shrimpfish
Aeoliscus punctulatus, also known as the speckled shrimpfish or jointed razorfish, is a member of the family Centriscidae of the order Syngnathiformes (the pipefishes and seahorses). This fish adopts a head-down, tail-up position as an adaptation for hiding among sea urchin spines. This fish is found in coastal waters in the Indo-West Pacific. Its natural habitat includes beds of seagrass and coral reefs, where sea urchins are found.
Description
The speckled shrimpfish is a slender fish that attains a maximum length of 15 cm (6 in). Its snout is long and tubular and used to suck in its planktonic prey. Its body is flattened with a keel on the ventral surface and is covered in bony plates. The dorsal fin has three spines and ten to eleven soft rays and its anal fin has twelve to thirteen soft rays. It is a transparent pale greenish colour with a brown lateral stripe and a scattering of small black spots.[3][4]
Distribution
The speckled shrimpfish is native to the coast of East Africa and the western Indian Ocean. Its range extends from Algoa Bay, South Africa to Madagascar, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Seychelles and the Maldive Islands.[3] It is found intertidally on sandy flats and in seagrass meadows down to a depth of about 40 m (131 ft).[4]
Biology
The speckled shrimpfish swims in a head down position. It feeds on plankton and is found drifting in small groups in seagrass beds, among the branches of corals and the spines of long-spined sea urchins.[3]
References
Cameron, C. & Pollom, R. (2016). "Aeoliscus punctulatus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T65134998A67618763. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T65134998A67618763.en.
Bailly, Nicolas (2013). "Aeoliscus punctulatus (Bianconi, 1854)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2018). "Aeoliscus punctulatus" in FishBase. February 2018 version.
King, Dennis; Fraser, Valda (2002). More Reef Fishes & Nudibranchs: East and South Coast of Southern Africa. Struik. p. 28. ISBN 9781868726868.
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