Pearlfish

Carapus acus

Fish guts ( Carapidae ) live in tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean at depths up to 2000 meters. Echiodon drummondii lives in the North Sea. They received their German names, as some species hide in the body cavities of invertebrates.

Features

Entrails fish are eel-like, elongated, the body is scaleless and often transparent. Dorsal and anal fin form seams along the top and bottom of the taper at the end of the body, the fin rays of the anal fin are always longer than the opposite fin rays of the dorsal fin. Pelvic fins absent always, the pectoral fins only three species of the genus Encheliophis. Anus and genital opening are very far forward, just behind the head, below the pectoral fins at the front end of the anal fin. The gill openings are large and extend far forward, there are six to seven gill rakers. In addition to the pines and the vomer and the palatine bone are dentate. Entrails fish are seven to 36 inches long.

Way of life

Entrails fish can freely ( Echiodon, Eurypleuron ) or together with sea cucumbers, starfish, shells, and sea squirts live as commensals ( Carapus, Onuxodon ) or possibly as parasites ( Encheliophis ). The fish penetrate to the tail or head- first into the host, and may even live in pairs in it.

Entrails fish eat small invertebrates and fish fry. It is debatable whether some species, as is often claimed, eat the internal organs of their hosts.

The eggs of fish guts are pelagic, which also pelagic larvae make first a vexillifer called stage by, in which she carries a long, provided with three to eight leaf-like appendage attachments. The next larval stage is called tenuis. This relatively long larval form melts from back to front, the vertebral bodies, and use the freed- nutrients, among others for the formation of otoliths. Tenuislarven live on the ocean floor, they are similar to the already full-grown fish. The head is relative to the body is still quite small and not yet attained a full body length. At this stage, guts fish colonize their host.

System

There are 35 species in seven genera and three subfamilies:

Subfamily Carapinae

In the subfamily Carapinae the pectoral fins are shorter than the length of the head and have 23 or fewer fin rays. The upper jaw is not protaktil (not vorstreckbar ). The number of Präcaudalwirbel (all vertebrae except tail vertebrae) is 17 to 35

Genus Carapus Rafinesque, 1810 Carapus acus ( Brünnich, 1768)
Carapus bermudensis ( Jones, 1874)
Carapus boraborensis ( Kaup, 1856)
Carapus dubius ( Putnam, 1874)
Carapus mourlani ( Petit, 1934)
Carapus sluiteri ( Weber, 1905)

Echiodon anchipterus Williams, 1984
Echiodon atopus Anderson, 2005
Echiodon coheni Williams, 1984
Echiodon cryomargarites Markle, Williams & Olney, 1983
Echiodon dawsoni Williams & Shipp, 1982
Echiodon gyrus ( Cuvier, 1829)
Echiodon drummondii Thompson, 1837
Echiodon exsilium Rosenblatt, 1961
Echiodon neotes Markle & Olney, 1990
Echiodon pegasus Markle & Olney, 1990
Echiodon Prionodon Parmentier, 2012
Echiodon pukaki Markle & Olney, 1990
Echiodon rendahli ( Whitley, 1941)

Encheliophis chardewalli Parmentier, 2004
Encheliophis gracilis ( Bleeker, 1856)
Encheliophis homei ( Richardson, 1846)
Encheliophis sagamianus ( Tanaka, 1908)
Encheliophis vermicularis Müller, 1842
Encheliophis vermiops Markle & Olney, 1990

Eurypleuron cinereum (Smith, 1955)
Eurypleuron owasianum ( Matsubara, 1953)

Onuxodon fowleri (Smith, 1955)
Onuxodon margaritiferae ( Rendahl, 1921)
Onuxodon parvibrachium ( Fowler, 1927)

Subfamily Pyramodontinae

In the subfamily Pyramodontinae the pectoral fins are longer than the length of the head and are supported 24 to 30 fin rays. The upper jaw is protaktil ( vorstreckbar ). The number of Präcaudalwirbel is 12 to 15

Genus Pyramodon Smith & Radcliffe in Radcliffe, 1913 Pyramodon lindas Markle & Olney, 1990
Pyramodon parini Markle & Olney, 1990
Pyramodon punctatus ( Regan, 1914)
Pyramodon ventralis Smith & Radcliffe in Radcliffe, 1913

Snyderidia canina Gilbert, 1905

Subfamily Tetragondacninae

The only species of the subfamily Tetragondacninae distinguished by many features, such as their squamation of other viscera fish.

Genus Tetragondacnus Anderson & Satria, 2007 Tetragondacnus spilotus Anderson & Satria, 2007

Swell

Joseph S. Nelson: Fishes of the World, John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN 0-471-25031-7
Kurt Fiedler: Textbook of Special Zoology, Volume II, Part 2: fish. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena, 1991, ISBN 3-334-00339-6