Tarpon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tarpon Fossil range: Late Miocene to Present [1] |
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| Atlantic tarpon | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Elopiformes |
| Family: | Megalopidae |
| Genus: | Megalops Valenciennes, 1847 |
| Species | |
There are two species of Tarpon, one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific oceans. They are the only members of the family Megalopidae and genus Megalops.
Tarpon are large coastal fish growing up to 8 feet in length. They are large-headed, relatively slender silver-sided fish with extremely large scales.
Tarpon are prized by anglers for their leaping, head-shaking fight. However, they have little to no food value and are normally released unharmed.
When swimming in oxygen-poor water, tarpons can breathe air from the surface using their swim bladder as a primitive lung. They have leptocephalus larvae similar to those of eels, which float in surface waters before taking on the adult form, at which time they migrate to inshore waters where they mature before returning to the ocean .[2] The genus name derives from the Greek adjective μεγάλο- - megalo- meaning "large", and the noun ὤψ - ops, meaning "eye".
[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 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
