Pinhead pearlfish
Pinhead pearlfish | |
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A pinhead pearlfish, Encheliophis boraborensis, at Kaltim, Indonesia - night dive | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Ophidiiformes |
Family: | Carapidae |
Genus: | Encheliophis |
Species: | E. boraborensis
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Binomial name | |
Encheliophis boraborensis | |
Synonyms[2] | |
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The pinhead pearlfish, Encheliophis boraborensis, is a species of slender,
Description
The pinhead pearlfish is a slender, tapering, eel-like fish that can grow to a length of 30 cm (12 in). It has very small eyes and near the jaws are star-shaped
Distribution
The pinhead pearlfish is found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean at depths to 150 m (490 ft). Its range extends from Mauritius and the Society Islands, northwards to Taiwan and the Yaeyama Islands, including the Mariana Islands and Caroline Islands.[1]
Biology
E. boraborensis is normally found living within the body cavity of a sea cucumber which it enters through the anus.
When E. boraborensis enters a host and finds a carapid fish already present, it makes a noise. The sounds emitted are regular pulses and the timing in males and females is different, so it is possible to tell the sex of the fish from the sounds it makes. If the fish already present is the closely related silver pearlfish, the sound is often reduced to a single longer pulse. When E. homei enters a sea cucumber already occupied by E. boraborensis, the sound it emits is also often reduced to a single pulse, but in this case it is shorter than its normal call. Both fish are able to change their calls, adapting them to whichever species of fish they encounter inside their hosts.[4]
References
- ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2018). "Encheliophis boraborensis" in FishBase. February 2018 version.
- ^ Bailly N, ed. (2008). "Carapus boraborensis (Kaup, 1856)". FishBase. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- ^ a b c McMillan, Selena; Luciano, Brooke; Lyman, Ashleigh; Nickels, Abby. "The symbiotic relationship between sea cucumbers (Holothuriidae) and pearlfish (Carapidae)". Bio.classes.ucsc.edu. University of California, Santa Cruz. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
- PMID 16254913.