Tarpon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Tarpon (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Tarpan.
| Tarpon Fossil range: Late Miocene to Present [1] |
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The tarpons are two species of fish, the only members of the family Megalopidae and genus Megalops. They are large coastal fish prized by anglers.
They grow up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) in length and sometimes weigh 160 kilograms (350 lb). When swimming in oxygen-poor water, tarpons can breathe air from the surface using their swim bladder as a primitive lung. They have a similar leptocephalus larve to eels, which float in surface waters before taking on the adult form.[2] There are two species, one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific oceans.
The genus name derives from the Greek adjective μεγάλος - megalos meaning "large", and the noun ὤψ - ops, meaning "face".
[edit] Species
- Atlantic tarpon, Megalops atlanticus
- Indo-Pacific tarpon, Megalops cyprinoides
[edit] References
- ^ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology 364: p.560. http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class. Retrieved on 2008-01-08.
- ^ McCosker, John F. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 85. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
[edit] External links
- References to the genus Megalops in The Biodiversity Heritage Library
