Mueller's pearlside
Mueller's pearlside or Mueller's bristle-mouth fish, Maurolicus muelleri, a marine hatchetfish of the genus Maurolicus, is found in deep tropical, subtropical and temperate waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, from the surface to depths of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). Its can grow up to 8 centimetres (3.1 in) at maximum.
| Mueller's pearlside | |
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| Subfamily: | Maurolicinae |
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| Species: | M. muelleri |
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| Maurolicus muelleri (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | |
Distribution and habitat
This fish is found around the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. They are found in most of the Atlantic Ocean and found around South America in the Pacific Ocean.[1] It mainly lives in depths of around 150 to 250 metres (490 to 820 ft) during the day, but can be found as shallow as 50 metres (160 ft) during the nighttime.[1] They can be found in depths of at least 1,527 metres (5,010 ft) at maximum.[1] It lives in tropical, subtropical and temperate waters in the deep sea.[1]
Description
Maurolicus muelleri is silver. They have 9 to 11 dorsal soft rays and 19 to 24 anal soft rays.[1] They can grow up to 8 centimetres (3.1 in) at maximum length, but usually grows up to 4 centimetres (1.6 in).[1]
Ecology
Diet
Mueller's pearlsides feed on copepods and euphausiids.[1]
Behavior
Mueller's pearlside follow the diel migration, occurring at shallower depths during the night than during the day.[1]
Life cycle
This fish becomes sexually mature at about one year of age.
References
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2006). "Maurolicus muelleri" in FishBase. March 2006 version.
- "Maurolicus muelleri". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 April 2006.
- Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8