Nomeus gronovii
Man-Of-War Fish
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Nomeidae (Driftfishes)
Nomeus
Nomeus gronovii (Man-Of-War Fish)
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
Elongate, moderately slender, and moderately compressed body; large fanlike pelvic fins; dorsal profile of head evenly convex; snout blunt; nares at tip of snout; eye of moderate size surrounded by adipose tissue; mouth moderately oblique; jaw teeth slightly recurved; gill rakers on first gill arch slender, 8-9 on upper limb, 1 in corner, 15-18 on lower limb; measurements (% SL): head length 29%-30%, snout length 6%-7%, eye length 8%-9%, upper jaw length 6%-11%, pectoral fin length 26%-33%, pelvic fin length 22%-25%, body depth 25%-27%; pectoral fin rounded in juveniles, pointed in adults, with 21-23 rays; first dorsal fin with 8-11 spines, second dorsal fin with 1 spine and 24-28 rays; pelvic fin inserts anterior to pectoral fin base; anal fin similar to second dorsal fin, with 2 spines and 24-29 rays; caudal peduncle slender and compressed; caudal fin deeply forked; body covered with small cycloid scales; vertebrae number 41 (14 precaudal, 27 caudal)
Juveniles silvery with bright blue blotches and spots; pelvic fin rays and membranes bright blue; in preservative, tan with dark brown blotches and spots; adults dark bluish or brown
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Newfoundland, Grand Banks, and Bermuda to Brazil, including northern and southern Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, and Antilles
Northern and southern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Oceanic; juveniles associated with Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia); large specimens occur independently of Physalia in deep water
Associated with Physalia (juveniles)
Biology
Maximum known size 400 mm TL
Found offshore in warm waters. Juveniles pelagic in coastal and offshore waters down to at least 30 m, but adults possibly demersal in deep water (Ref. 9563). Occur in association with floating Portuguese man-of-war, Physalia, feeding on its tentacles and gonads and may drift with it into shore waters with proper wind conditions (Ref. 4777). Probably also feed on other soft-bodied jellyfish as well as on zooplankton (Ref.4777).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-01-29. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial.
References
Haedrich 1967
Haedrich 1986d
Haedrich 2002b
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Haedrich and Horn 1972
Ahlstrom et al. 1976
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Horn 1984
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Last 2001b
Haedrich, R.L. (1986) Nomeidae. p. 846-850. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Haedrich, R.L. (1986) Nomeidae. p. 1183-1188. 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. 3.
Figueiredo, J.L. and N.A. Menezes (2000) Manual de peixes marinhos do sudeste do Brasil. VI.Teleostei (5). Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo. Brazil. 116 p.
Mundy, B.C. (2005) Checklist of the fishes of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Bishop Mus. Bull. Zool. (6):1-704.
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.
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