Flying gurnard
| Flying gurnard | |
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| Genus: | Dactylopterus Lacépède, 1801
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| Species: | D. volitans
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| Dactylopterus volitans | |
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Callionymus pelagicus Rafinesque, 1818 | |
The flying gurnard, or helmet gurnard, (Dactylopterus volitans) is a fish of tropical to warm temperate waters on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. On the American side, it is found as far north as Massachusetts (exceptionally as far as Canada) and as far south as Argentina, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.[1] On the European and African side, it ranges from the English Channel to Angola, including the Mediterranean Sea.[1] Similar and related species from the genus Dactyloptena are found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
When excited, the fish spreads its "wings", which are semi-transparent but tipped with a beautiful and phosphorescent bright blue coloration (these are designed to scare away predators, not to enable the fish to glide in the air as do the fins of flying fish). The fish also has large eyes. It reaches up to 50 cm (20 in) in length and 1.8 kg (4.0 lb) in weight.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Dactylopterus volitans". FishBase. Dec 2007 version.