Diplospinus multistriatus
Striped Escolar
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Gempylidae (Snake Mackerels)
Diplospinus
Diplospinus multistriatus (Striped Escolar)
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
Very elongate and compressed body; anus about midway between tip of snout and tip of caudal fin; anterior section of anal fin very low; head gently elevated from snout to dorsal fin origin; anterior naris closer to eye than to tip of snout; posterior naris elliptical, just anterior to eye; lower jaw projects beyond upper jaw, lacks dermal process; upper jaw with conical dermal process, three immovable and three or four movable fanglike teeth on side of symphysis, followed by a row of small canine teeth; lower jaw with fixed fanglike tooth on side of symphysis, followed by a row of caninlike teeth; vomer lacks teeth; numerous short, spinelike gill rakers on first gill arch; head length about 17% SL, body depth 6%–7% SL; pectoral fin less than one-third of head length, with 11 to 13 rays; first dorsal fin originates over operculum, with 30 to 36 spines; second dorsal fin immediately behind first, about half the length, with 35 to 44 rays; pelvic fin consists of a minute spine in adults, located under pectoral fin base; anal fin originates under origin of second dorsal fin, with 2 spines and 28 to 35 rays, anterior rays free of membranes; lateral line single, runs close to ventral profile; vertebrae number 57 to 62 in North and Central Atlantic populations
Silvery, with dotted lines along body and jet black gill membranes
Distribution
New England to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico
Eastern and northern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Mesopelagic to 1,000 m, migrating to 100 or 200 m at night
Biology
Crustaceans and small ray-finned fishes
Maximum known size is 330 mm SL
Fecundity is about 1,200 eggs; females mature at about 160 mm SL
Oceanic, migrating upward at night to 100 to 200 m (Ref. 6181). Probably forming schools during daytime (Ref. 6181). Feed on crustaceans and small fish (Ref. 6181). Females mature at about 16 cm (Ref. 36731). Eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 6766).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-05-08. Resilience: Medium (Fec=1,200).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries.
References
Nakamura and Parin 1993
Nakamura and Parin 2001b
Parin et al. 2002a
Nakamura, I. and N.V. Parin (1993) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 15. Snake mackerels and cutlassfishes of the world (families Gempylidae and Trichiuridae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the snake mackerels, snoeks, escolars, gemfishes, sackfishes, domine, oilfish, cutlassfishes,. scabbardfishes, hairtails, and frostfishes known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(15):136 p.
Nakamura, I. and N.V. Parin (2001) Gempylidae. Snake mackerels. p. 3698-3708. In K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Vol. 6. Bony fishes part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles. FAO, Rome.
Hopkins, T.L., T.T. Sutton and T.M. Lancraft (1996) The trophic structure and predation impact of a low latitude midwater fish assemblage. Prog. Oceanog. 38:205-239.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
Comments On Diplospinus multistriatus