Pegasidae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about a scientific family of fishes. For the mythological Greek nymphs, see Pegasides.
| Seamoths | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Short dragonfish, Eurypegasus draconis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Gasterosteiformes |
| Family: | Pegasidae |
| Genera | |
The seamoths are a family, the Pegasidae, of fish found in coastal tropical waters.
They are distinguished by flattened bodies, the presence of large, wing-like, pectoral fins, and a body encased in thick, bony plates. Most species also have an elongated snout in front of their jaws. Their pelvic fins are also modified, allowing them to "walk" across the sea bottom where they live. Their jaws are highly specialised, and can form a tube-like mouth used to suck worms and other small animals from their burrows.[1]
[edit] Species
The family contains two genera and five species.
Family Pegasidae
- Genus Eurypegasus
- Short dragonfish, Eurypegasus draconis (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Hawaiian seamoth, Eurypegasus papilio (Gilbert, 1905)
- Genus Pegasus
- Sculptured Seamoth, Pegasus lancifer Kaup, 1861
- Brick seamoth, Pegasus laternarius Cuvier, 1816
- Longtail seamoth, Pegasus volitans Linnaeus, 1758
[edit] References
- ^ Orr, J.W. & Pietsch, T.W. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 171. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Pegasidae" in FishBase. October 2006 version.
 |
This Gasterosteiformes-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
