Psenes cyanophrys
Freckled Driftfish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Nomeidae (Driftfishes)
Psenes
Psenes cyanophrys (Freckled Driftfish)
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
Relatively deep bodied and compressed; dorsal profile of head moderately elevated; snout truncate; nares on tip of snout, anterior naris porelike, posterior naris slitlike; eye moderately large, surrounded by adipose tissue; maxilla extends to below center of eye; jaw teeth slender, pointed, and widely spaced; vomer with small patch of teeth, palatine with single series of teeth; gill rakers on first arch slender, 11 on upper limb and 19 on lower limb; measurements (% SL): head length 30%-35%, snout length 7%-8%, eye length 9%-11%, upper jaw length 9%-11%, pectoral fin length 27%-31%, pelvic fin length 13%-19%, body depth 44%-51%; pectoral fin rounded with 17 to 20 rays; first dorsal fin originates anterior to pectoral fin base with 9 to 11 spines; second dorsal fin with 1 spine and 24 to 28 rays; pelvic fin inserts under posterior section of pectoral fin base; anal fin slightly higher than second dorsal fin with 3 spines and 24 to 28 rays; caudal peduncle slender; caudal fin deeply forked; body covered with small scales, including bases of unpaired fins; scales on top of head anterior to posterior margin of orbits relatively small; scales deciduous with several weak ctenii; lateral line follows dorsal contour and terminates at end of second dorsal fin; vertebrae number 31: 12 or 13 precaudal and 18 or 19 caudal.
Brown to yellowish in preservative, with small spots on scales forming series of stripes on flanks.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Massachusetts and Bermuda to northern South America, including the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Habitat Associations
Tropical and subtropical seas worldwide
Biology
Maximum known size is 230 mm TL.
Inhabits the open ocean (Ref. 26340). Found under floating weeds or debris. Adults were found under large weed-rafts at a depth of about 20 meters, using the shade as cover. They also form schools (Ref. 48637). Associated with Sargassum (Ref. 26340) and jellyfish (Ref. 7251).
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: Medium (Assuming tm=2-4).
References
Haedrich 1967
Haedrich 1986d
Haedrich 2002b
Haedrich and Horn 1972
Ahlstrom et al. 1976
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Shimizu 1983c
Horn 1984
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
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.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Last, P.R. (2001) Nomeidae. Driftfishes (cigarfishes). p. 3771-3779. 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.
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.
Kuiter, R.H. and T. Tonozuka (2001) Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 3. Jawfishes - Sunfishes, Opistognathidae - Molidae. Zoonetics, Australia. p. 623-893.
Allen, G.R. and M.V. Erdmann (2012) Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth, Australia: Universitiy of Hawai'i Press, Volumes I-III. Tropical Reef Research.
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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