Stripey

Juvenile fish

The Nagasakifisch ( Microcanthus strigatus ( Gr. " micros " = small " akantha " = thorn Latin: strigatus = striped) ), called in Australia Stripey, is a small marine fish that are disjoint in the western and central Pacific along the coasts of China and Japan, in Hawaii, Australia ( not on the coast of South Australia ) occurs and New Caledonia.

Features

The high-backed, 16 to 20 inches long expectant fish resemble the south living yellowtail control perch ( Atypicthys latus ). They have a yellow, sometimes whitish- yellow color with broad dark longitudinal stripes that are slightly curved over the head upwards. Back, anus, breast and pelvic fins are yellow, the caudal fin yellowish transparent.

Way of life

The Nagasakifisch lives in large flocks of rocky, algae -covered reefs and in the transition zone to coral reefs at depths of 2 to 20 meters and feeds on zooplankton, other small invertebrates and algae.

System

The species was described in 1831 strigatus by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier as Chaetodon and provided by the British zoologist William Swainson in the monotypic genus Microcanthus 1839. Kuiter separates the living from eastern Australia to New Caledonia Nagasakifische as Microcanthus joyceae ( Whitley, 1931) and the Western Australian population as Microcanthus vittatus ( Castelnau, 1873) of Microcanthus strigatus. They differ slightly in strip drawing of Microcanthus strigatus, the latter should also be larger than the two Australian populations.