Tarpon

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Tarpon
Fossil range: Late Miocene to Present
[1]

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Elopiformes
Family: Megalopidae
Genus: Megalops
Valenciennes, 1847
Species

Megalops atlanticus
Megalops cyprinoides

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

[edit] References

  1. ^ 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. 
  2. ^ 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
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