Aulostomus maculatus

Trumpetfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Syngnathiformes
Family:	Aulostomidae
Genus:	Aulostomus
Species:	A. maculatus
Binomial name
Aulostomus maculatus (Valenciennes, 1837)

Trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus) are long bodied fish that often swim vertically while trying to blend with vertical coral, like sea rods or sea pens, and pipe sponges.

Trumpetfish

They occur in waters between 3 and 30 meters deep and can grow to 40 to 80 cm in length.

Trumpetfish, any of a family of small fishes found in tropical seas. They are closely related to cornetfish. Trumpetfish are less than 2 feet (60 cm) long and have greatly elongated bodies with small jaws at the front end of a long tubular snout. The gills are pectinate, resembling the teeth of a comb, and a soft dorsal fin is far back near the tail fin. A series of spines occurs in front of the dorsal fin. Trumpetfish vary in color from dark brown to greenish but also yellow in some areas. A black streak, sometimes reduced to a dark spot, occurs along the jaw, and a pair of dark spots is sometimes found on the base of the tail fin.

Trumpetfish swim slowly, sneaking up on unsuspecting prey, or lie motionless like a floating stick, swaying back and forth with the wave action of the water. They are found at the surface or some distance below in reefs in lagoons or hundreds of miles from land. They are sometimes locally abundant over coral atoll reefs or in lagoons, where they may be caught even in areas of severe wave action. They are adept at camouflaging themselves and often swim in alignment with other larger fishes. They feed almost exclusively on small cardinal fishes, such as wrasses and silversides. The spawning habits of the trumpetfish are unknown, but in the region around Madeira, it is known that the females have mature eggs from March to June.

A yellow trumpetfish

Trumpetfish make up the genus Aulostomus of the family Aulostomidae. A. maculatus is found in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean from Bermuda, the Bahama Islands, and Florida through the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico south to Bahia, Brazil. A. chinensis is widespread in the tropical Pacific and Indian oceans westward and southward from Hawaii. A. strigosus of the tropical eastern Atlantic is found around St. Helena, Ascension Island, the Cape Verde Islands, and possibly Madeira.

Trumpetfish often live near lagoons or coral atolls.

References

• Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Aulostomus maculatus". FishBase. October 2005 version.
• "Aulostomus maculatus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 4 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)

External links

• Trumpetfish, Aulostomus maculatus @ MarineBio.org
• Australian Museum of Fish
• Trumpetfish