Megalops cyprinoides

• Overview
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Family : Tarpons ; Adults are generally found at sea , but young inhabit river mouths , inner bays , and mangrove forests . In freshwater , it occurs in rivers , lagoons , lakes , and swampy backwaters [1]. Tolerate salinities from 0 to 100. Mainly diurnal [2]. Predaceous, feeding mainly on fishes and crustaceans[3]. Breed offshore, possibly throughout the year. Larvae are transparent and resemble larval eels[4]. Juveniles commonly enter freshwater[5]. Known to breath air , rising regularly to the surface to do so. Cultured in ponds , the fry being sourced from the coasts[6]. Popular angling fish[7]. Edible but not esteemed[7].

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Family Megalopidae

Chiefly marine ; entering fresh water . Distribution: tropical and subtropical waters. Fusiform , compressed body. Mouth terminal , oblique or superior, lower jaw prominent , gular plate ventral between two branches of lower jaw. Pseudo- branchiae absent. Branchiostegal rays : 23-27. Single dorsal fin without spines; dorsal fin rays : 13-21; filamentous last dorsal ray. Pectorals very low. Anal fin rays: 22-29. Pelvic fin rays: 10-11. Conus arteriosus present. Branched tubes radiating over lateral line scales . Swim bladder lying against skull. About 2.2 m maximum length . Larval stage leptocephalic translucid. Large silvery fishes . Can tolerate oxygen-poor water by inhaling air into lung-like swim bladder. Popular sportfishes.The family Megalopidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Elopiformes. It contains 2 genera and 2 species. It may be found in Marine, Brackish , and Freshwater environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is carangiform . Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be active . Etymology of this family name : Greek, mega, megalos = great + Greek, pous = foot

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 554 meters (0 to 1,818 feet).[8]

Biome: Fresh water , brackish water, saltwater . Reef-associated .

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Brisbania staigeri Castelnau, 1878
2. Clupea cyprinoides Broussonet, 1782
3. Clupea thrissoides Bloch & Schneider, 1801
4. Cyprinodon cundinga Hamilton, 1822
5. Elops cundinga (Hamilton, 1822)
6. Elops cyprinoides (Broussonet, 1782)
7. Magalops cyprinoides (Broussonet, 1782)
8. Megalops cundinga (Hamilton, 1822)
9. Megalops curtifilis Richardson, 1846
10. Megalops filamentosus Lacepède, 1803
11. Megalops indicus Valenciennes, 1847
12. Megalops macrophthalmus Bleeker, 1851
13. Megalops macropterus Bleeker, 1866
14. Megalops oligolepis Bleeker, 1866
15. Megalops setipinnis Richardson, 1843

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Data last modified by FishBase 02-May-1994

Similar Species

Members of the genus Megalops

There are approximately 25 species in this genus:

M. atlantica · M. atlanticus (Atlantic Tarpon) · Dorosoma cepedianum · M. cepediana · M. cundinga · M. curtifilis · M. cyprinoides (Indo-Pacific Tarpon) · M. cyrinoides · M. elongatus · M. filamentosus · M. giganteus · M. humeralis · M. indicus · M. kundinga · M. macrophthalmus · M. macropterus · M. macropthalmus · M. maculatus · M. morosus · M. notata · M. oglina · M. oligolepis · M. setipinnis · M. sp · M. atlanticus

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• FishBase 2006.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 18, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from provider.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 15, 2007:

• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, Bureau of Rural Sciences National commercial fisheries half-degree data set 2000-2002
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, CSIRO Marine Data Warehouse
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity - Fish Collection
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, iziko South African Museum - Fish Collection
• Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Vertebrate specimens
• Museum national d'histoire naturelle, Ichtyologie
• Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, MCZ Fish Collection
• OZCAM
• Provider, Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums
• Royal Ontario Museum, Fish specimens
• Senckenberg, Collection Pisces
• The Swedish Museum of Natural History
• , Fishes
• University of Kansas Biodiversity Research Center, Fish Collection

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3864238
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Fis-22902
• Fishbase Species ID: 227
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13718490
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 553289
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 116324

Footnotes

1. Allen, G.R. (1991). Field guide to the freshwater fishes of New Guinea. Christensen Research Institute, Madang, Papua New Guinea. [back]
2. Coates, D. (1987). Observations on the biology of tarpon, Megalops cyprinoides (Broussonet) (Pisces: Megalopidae), in the Sepik River, northern Papua New Guinea. Aust. J. Mar. Freshwat. Res. 38(4):529-535. [back]
3. Fischer, W., I. Sousa, C. Silva, A. de Freitas, J.M. Poutiers, W. Schneider, T.C. Borges, J.P. Feral and A. Massinga (1990). Fichas FAO de identificaçao de espécies para actividades de pesca. Guia de campo das espécies comerciais marinhas e de águas salob [back]
4. Bell-Cross, G. and J.L. Minshull (1988). The fishes of Zimbabwe. National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, Harare. 294 p. [back]
5. Kuiter, R. H. and Tonozuka (2001). Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 1. Eels- Snappers, Muraenidae - Lutjanidae. Zoonetics, Australia. 302 p. [back]
6. Kottelat, M., A.J. Whitten, S.N. Kartikasari and S. Wirjoatmodjo (1993). Freshwater fishes of Western Indonesia and Sulawesi. Periplus Editions, Hong Kong. 221 p. [back]
7. Smith, M.M. (1986). Megalopidae. p. 155-156. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. [back]
8. Mean = 56.920 meters (186.745 feet), Standard Deviation = 156.230 based on 223 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

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