Dactylopterus volitans
Flying Gurnard
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Dactylopteriformes (Pipefishes, Seahorses and others)
Dactylopteridae (Flying Gurnards)
Dactylopterus
Dactylopterus volitans (Flying Gurnard)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Blunt head, extremely long preopercular spines, fanlike pectoral fins. Interorbital region strongly concave. Preopercular spine extends to or beyond base of pectoral fin. Measurements (% SL): head length 25%–28%, snout length 6%–9%, orbit diameter 7%–8%, upper jaw length 7%–8%, pectoral fin length 49%–77%, pelvic fin length 25%–26%, body depth 16%–17%. Pectoral fin extends beyond anal fin base, has 34 rays, with lower 6 rays shorter and forming separate lobe. First dorsal fin has six spines, with anterior two on nape connected basally by membranes and separated from more posterior four spines. Second dorsal fin has one spine and 8 rays. Anal fin originates posterior to origin of second dorsal fin, has 6 rays, with last ray single.
Color varies with background but often is orange brown to dusky, with marbling of blue spots on back; lower body is pinkish; and pectoral fin is patterned with blue or lavender spots and blue lines.
Distribution
Tropical to warm temperate Atlantic Ocean, from Massachusetts and Bermuda to Argentina, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean Sea.
Found throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico and off Veracruz in the southern Gulf.
Habitat Associations
Depth range: to about 80 m
Biology
Food consists of small shrimps and crabs.
Maximum known size is about 460 mm SL.
Found on sand, mud or over rocks in sandy areas, exploring the bottom with the free part of the pectoral fins (Ref. 6544). Feeds primarily on benthic crustaceans, especially crabs, clams and small fishes. Neither anterolateral glandural groove nor venom gland is present (Ref. 57406).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-01-29. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish; aquarium: commercial.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Bigelow and Schroeder 1953
Breder 1963
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Uyeno and Sato 1983e
Eschmeyer 1986b
Robins and Ray 1986
Roux 1986
Cervigón 1991
Boschung 1992
Randall 1996
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Smith-Vaniz 2003a
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Roux, C. (1986) Dactylopteridae. p. 1284-1285. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Eschmeyer, W.N. and L.J. Dempster (1990) Dactylopteridae. p. 690-691. In J. C. Quero, J. C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post, and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p.
Sanches, J.G. (1991) Catálogo dos principais peixes marinhos da República de Guiné-Bissau. Publ. Avuls. Inst. Nac. Invest. Pescas 16:429 p.
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