Zaprora silenus

• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Common Names

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Description

Family Zaproridae

Distribution: North Pacific. Body and head stout and compressed ; snout blunt ; mouth terminal and large. Dorsal and anal fins high and evenly contoured. Dorsal fin with 54-58 thin, flexible spines. Anal fin with 3 or 4 thin spines and 24-30 soft rays . Caudal fin large and rounded , peduncle short and deep. Pectoral fins large, with 20-25 rays . Pelvic fins and girdle absent. Soft rays of anal , caudal, and pectoral fins branched two, three, or more times. One pair of nostrils (posterior pair absent). Scales small, cycloid, present on body and median fins . Pores of cephalic lateral line canals large and numerous : suborbital 8, preopercular 7, mandibular 4. Trunk lateral line canal absent, up to three incomplete lines of widely spaced superficial neuromasts discernible in fresh specimens. Jaw teeth sharp, uniserial; vomerine and palatine teeth absent. Gill membranes broadly united and free from isthmus. Branchiostegal rays 6. Pyloric caeca numerous (36-77). Swim bladder absent. Vertebrae 61-64. Adults grayish blue to green with white-, yellow-, or pale-blue-rimmed head pores ; young fish orange-brown with inconspicuous head pores. Attains total length of 1 m or more. Adults occur near bottom to depth of 675 m or more, juveniles and young adults often taken near surface over deep water . Often found in association with jellyfishes, Juveniles take shelter under the medusae and are often mistaken for medusafish, Icichthys lockingtoni (Centrolophidae).The family Zaproridae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes ) and the Order Perciformes. It contains 1 genus and 1 species. It may be found in Marine environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is anguilliform .

Habitat

Adults occur near bottom (Ref. 2850). Young to 7.2 cm are pelagic or bathypelagic , usually associated with jellyfish (Ref. 6885).

Typically found in water with a depth of 0 to -5,516 meters (0 to -18,097 feet).Mean = -445.590 meters (-1,461.909 feet), Standard Deviation = 837.700 based on 3,988 observations. Ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Biome: Saltwater . Demersal .

Ecology: Juveniles take shelter under the medusae and are often mistaken for medusafish Icichthys lockingtoni (Ref. 50276).

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Zaprora silenus Jordan, 1896

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Family : Prowfish .

Similar Species

Members of the genus Zaprora

There are approximately 1 species in this genus:

Z. silenus (Prowfish)

Bibliography

• Allen, M.J. and G.B. Smith (1988). Atlas and zoogeography of common fishes in the Bering Sea and northeastern Pacific. NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS 66, 151 p.
• Anderson, M.E. (1994). Systematics and osteology of the Zoarcidae (Teleostei: Perciformes). Ichthyol. Bull. J.L.B. Smith Inst. Ichthyol. 60:120 p.
• Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann (1983). A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 336 p.
• Hart, J.L. (1973). Pacific fishes of Canada. Fish. Res. Board Can. Bull. 180:1-740.
• Masuda, H., K. Amaoka, C. Araga, T. Uyeno and T. Yoshino (1984). The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Vol. 1 (text). Tokai University Press, Tokyo, Japan. 437 p. (text), 370 pls.
• Mecklenberg, Catherine W. 2003. Family Zaproridae Jordan and Evermann 1898: prowfishes. Annotated Checklists of Fishes, no. 13. 1-3.
• Robins, Richard C., Reeve M. Bailey, Carl E. Bond, James R. Brooker, Ernest A. Lachner, et al. 1980. A List of Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States and Canada, Fourth Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication, no. 12. American Fisheries Society. Bethesda, Maryland, USA. 174.

More Info

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Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 10, 2006.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 02, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 8 providers.
• Heemstra, Phillip C. (from FishBase).
• MBLWHOI Library: Universal Biological Index and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 18, 2008.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 02, 2008:

• Alaska Ocean Observing System: Arctic Ocean Diversity
• Burke Museum: University of Washington Fish Collection
• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Fish Collection
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Canadian Museum of Nature - Fish Collection (OBIS Canada)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: NODC WOD01 Plankton Database
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: North Pacific Groundfish Observer (North Pacific Research Board)
• Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History: Vertebrate specimens
• Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University: MCZ Fish Collection
• Royal Ontario Museum: Fish specimens
• University of Kansas Biodiversity Research Center: Fish Collection

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2503806
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Fis-30757
• Fishbase Species ID: 3819
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13548183
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 171659
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: AFCSH01010
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 127804

Footnotes

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