Lampris guttatus: Difference between revisions
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They have long falcated [[pectoral fin]]s inserted (more or less) horizontally. The [[caudal fin]]s are broadly lunated, forked, and emarginated. [[Pelvic fin]]s are similar but a little longer than pectoral fins, with about 14–17 rays. The anterior portion of a [[dorsal fin]] (with about 50–55 rays) is greatly elongated, also in a falcate profile similar to the pelvic fins. The [[anal fin]] (34–41 rays) is about as high and as long as the shorter portion of the dorsal fin, and both fins have corresponding grooves into which they can be depressed. The snout is pointed and the mouth small, [[tooth]]less, and terminal. The [[lateral line]] forms a high arch over the pectoral fins before sweeping down to the caudal peduncle. |
They have long falcated [[pectoral fin]]s inserted (more or less) horizontally. The [[caudal fin]]s are broadly lunated, forked, and emarginated. [[Pelvic fin]]s are similar but a little longer than pectoral fins, with about 14–17 rays. The anterior portion of a [[dorsal fin]] (with about 50–55 rays) is greatly elongated, also in a falcate profile similar to the pelvic fins. The [[anal fin]] (34–41 rays) is about as high and as long as the shorter portion of the dorsal fin, and both fins have corresponding grooves into which they can be depressed. The snout is pointed and the mouth small, [[tooth]]less, and terminal. The [[lateral line]] forms a high arch over the pectoral fins before sweeping down to the caudal peduncle. |
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In May 2015, ''L. guttatus'' was shown to be completely [[warm-blooded]], becoming the first known fish with this trait. A factor present in its gill tissue structure exhibits [[counter-current heat exchange]], and the fish can generate heat with its pectoral muscles.<ref name="Sciencemag"/><ref>[https://swfsc.noaa.gov/news.aspx?ParentMenuId=39&id=20466 Warm Blood Makes Opah an Agile Predator]. Fisheries Resources Division of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center of the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]. May 12, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015. "New research by NOAA Fisheries has revealed the opah, or moonfish, as the first fully warm-blooded fish that circulates heated blood throughout its body..."</ref> It can consistently keep its ''entire'' body around 5 degrees Celsius warmer than its environment.<ref name=NatGeo /> Previously, ''L. guttatus'' was known to exhibit cranial endothermy, generating and maintaining metabolic heat in the cranial and optic regions at 2 °C warmer than the rest of the body.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bray|first1=Dianne|title=Opah, Lampris guttatus|url=http://www.fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/1870|website=Fishes of Australia|accessdate=16 September 2014}}</ref> This ability important for maintaining brain and eye function during the wide range of temperatures it experiences with its vertical movements.<ref>Runcie R. 2006. Cranial endothermy in the moonfish (''Lampris guttatus'')</ref> |
In May 2015, ''L. guttatus'' was shown to be completely [[warm-blooded]], becoming the first known fish with this trait. A factor present in its gill tissue structure exhibits [[counter-current heat exchange]], and the fish can generate heat with its pectoral muscles.<ref name="Sciencemag"/><ref>[https://swfsc.noaa.gov/news.aspx?ParentMenuId=39&id=20466 Warm Blood Makes Opah an Agile Predator]. Fisheries Resources Division of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center of the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]. May 12, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015. "New research by NOAA Fisheries has revealed the opah, or moonfish, as the first fully warm-blooded fish that circulates heated blood throughout its body..."</ref> It can consistently keep its ''entire'' body around 5 degrees Celsius warmer than its environment.<ref name=NatGeo /> Previously, ''L. guttatus'' was known to exhibit cranial endothermy, generating and maintaining metabolic heat in the cranial and optic regions at 2 °C warmer than the rest of the body.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bray|first1=Dianne|title=Opah, Lampris guttatus|url=http://www.fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/1870|website=Fishes of Australia|accessdate=16 September 2014}}</ref> This ability is important for maintaining brain and eye function during the wide range of temperatures it experiences with its vertical movements.<ref>Runcie R. 2006. Cranial endothermy in the moonfish (''Lampris guttatus'')</ref> |
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Most fish are completely [[Ectotherm|cold-blooded]]. Some have developed localized warm-blooded traits such as [[tuna]] which only have selected muscles that are kept at a steady temperature. The [[salmon shark]] also has the ability to regulate its blood temperature, allowing it to function in the frigid North Pacific waters, but is not completely warm-blooded.<ref name="Sciencemag">Wegner, Nicholas C., Snodgrass, Owen E., Dewar, Heidi, John, Hyde R. ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]''. [http://www.sciencemag.org/content/348/6236/786 "Whole-body endothermy in a mesopelagic fish, the opah, Lampris guttatus"]. pp. 786–789. Retrieved May 14, 2015. </ref><ref name=NatGeo>{{Cite web|title = Meet the Comical Opah, the Only Truly Warm-Blooded Fish|url = http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/14/meet-the-comical-opah-the-only-truly-warm-blooded-fish|accessdate = 15 May 2015|first = Ed|last = Yong}}</ref> |
Most fish are completely [[Ectotherm|cold-blooded]]. Some have developed localized warm-blooded traits such as [[tuna]] which only have selected muscles that are kept at a steady temperature. The [[salmon shark]] also has the ability to regulate its blood temperature, allowing it to function in the frigid North Pacific waters, but is not completely warm-blooded.<ref name="Sciencemag">Wegner, Nicholas C., Snodgrass, Owen E., Dewar, Heidi, John, Hyde R. ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]''. [http://www.sciencemag.org/content/348/6236/786 "Whole-body endothermy in a mesopelagic fish, the opah, Lampris guttatus"]. pp. 786–789. Retrieved May 14, 2015. </ref><ref name=NatGeo>{{Cite web|title = Meet the Comical Opah, the Only Truly Warm-Blooded Fish|url = http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/14/meet-the-comical-opah-the-only-truly-warm-blooded-fish|accessdate = 15 May 2015|first = Ed|last = Yong}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 16:45, 16 May 2015
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| Species: | L. guttatus
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Lampris guttatus, commonly known as the opah, cravo, moonfish, kingfish, and Jerusalem haddock, is a large, colorful, deep-bodied pelagic lampriform fish belonging to the family Lampridae, which comprises the genus Lampris, with two extant species. It is a pelagic fish with a worldwide distribution. While it is common to locations such as Hawaii[2] and west Africa, it remains uncommon in others, including the Mediterranean.[3] In the places where L. guttatus is prevalent, it is not a target of fishing, though it does represent an important commercial component of bycatch. In Hawaiian longline fisheries, it is generally caught on deep sets targeting big-eye tuna. In 2005, the fish caught numbered 13,332. In areas where the fish is uncommon, such as the Mediterranean, its prevalence is increasing. Some researchers believe this a result of climate change.[3] Much is still unknown about the distribution, interactions, life histories, and preferred habitats of this fish and other medium to large-sized pelagic fishes.[4]
Etymology
The genus name Lampris is derived from the Greek word lampros, meaning "brilliant" or "clear", while the Latin species name guttatus means spotted and refers to the spotted body of this fish.[1]
Description
Lampris guttatus is a large discoid and deeply keeled fish with an attractive form and a conspicuous coloration. They usually reach a maximum length of 2 m (6.6 ft) and a maximum weight of 270 kg (600 lb). The body is a deep steely blue grading to rosy on the belly, with white spots in irregular rows covering the flanks. Both the median and paired fins are a bright vermillion. Jaws are vermillion, too. The large eyes stand out as well, ringed with golden yellow. The body is covered in minute cycloid scales and its silvery, iridescent guanine coating is easily abraded.
They have long falcated pectoral fins inserted (more or less) horizontally. The caudal fins are broadly lunated, forked, and emarginated. Pelvic fins are similar but a little longer than pectoral fins, with about 14–17 rays. The anterior portion of a dorsal fin (with about 50–55 rays) is greatly elongated, also in a falcate profile similar to the pelvic fins. The anal fin (34–41 rays) is about as high and as long as the shorter portion of the dorsal fin, and both fins have corresponding grooves into which they can be depressed. The snout is pointed and the mouth small, toothless, and terminal. The lateral line forms a high arch over the pectoral fins before sweeping down to the caudal peduncle.
In May 2015, L. guttatus was shown to be completely warm-blooded, becoming the first known fish with this trait. A factor present in its gill tissue structure exhibits counter-current heat exchange, and the fish can generate heat with its pectoral muscles.[5][6] It can consistently keep its entire body around 5 degrees Celsius warmer than its environment.[7] Previously, L. guttatus was known to exhibit cranial endothermy, generating and maintaining metabolic heat in the cranial and optic regions at 2 °C warmer than the rest of the body.[8] This ability is important for maintaining brain and eye function during the wide range of temperatures it experiences with its vertical movements.[9]
Most fish are completely cold-blooded. Some have developed localized warm-blooded traits such as tuna which only have selected muscles that are kept at a steady temperature. The salmon shark also has the ability to regulate its blood temperature, allowing it to function in the frigid North Pacific waters, but is not completely warm-blooded.[5][7]
Distribution and habitat
Lampris guttatus has a worldwide distribution, from the Grand Banks to Argentina in the Western Atlantic, from Norway and Greenland to Senegal and south to Angola (also in the Mediterranean) in the Eastern Atlantic, from the Gulf of Alaska to southern California in the Eastern Pacific, in temperate waters of the Indian Ocean, and rare forays into the Southern Ocean.[1]
This species is presumed to live out their entire lives in the open ocean, at mesopelagic depths of 50–500 m, with possible forays into the bathypelagic zone. Typically, it is found within water at 8 to 22 °C.[2] To better understand the depths L. guttatus inhabited in the tropical and temperate ocean waters, a study was performed, tagging them in the central North Pacific. Their location was found to be related to a temporal scale, inhabiting depths of 50–100 m during the night and 100–400 m during the day. The depths of the vertical habitat varied with local oceanogeographic conditions, though the patterns of deeper depths during the day is universal to the species.[4]
The endothermy of Lampris guttatus gives them a major advantage at the depths where they live. Since they are relatively warm-blooded at those depths compared to the water around them, they can move more quickly to hunt prey. Most predators at such low depths do not have the energy to be able to move much and therefore must sit and wait for prey to pass them.[5]
Behavior
The life history and development of L. guttatus still remain rather uncertain.[10][full citation needed] They are apparently solitary, but are known to school with tuna and other scombrids. They propel themselves by a lift-based mode of swimming, that is, by flapping their pectoral fins. This, together with their forked caudal fins and depressible median fins, indicates they swim at constantly high speeds. Squid and krill make up the bulk of their diet; small fish are also taken.
They probably spawn in the spring.[1] Their planktonic larvae lack of dorsal and pelvic fin ornamentation. The slender hatchlings later undergo a marked and rapid transformation from a slender to deep-bodied form; this transformation is complete by 10.6 mm standard length.
Like many other large pelagic visual predators, such as swordfish and big-eye tuna, it exhibits vertical behavior. Its speeds have found to be more than 25 cm/s, and on one occasion one was witnessed to have a burst of speed of 4 m/s.[2]
Based on those caught off the Hawaiian coast, the diet of L. guttatus appears to be a squid-based. Those caught along the Patagonia Shelf also showed a narrow range of prey items, the most common of which was the deepwater onychotenhid squid (Moroteuthis ingens).[2]
References
- ^ a b c d Fish Base
- ^ a b c d Polovina, Jeffrey J.; Hawn, Donald; Abecassis, Melanie (2008). "Vertical movement and habitat of opah (Lampris guttatus) in the central North Pacific recorded with pop-up archival tags". Marine Biology. 153 (3): 257–267. doi:10.1007/s00227-007-0801-2. ISSN 0025-3162.
- ^ a b Francour, Patrice; Cottalorda, Jean-Michel; Aubert, Maurice; Bava, Simone; Colombey, Marine; Gilles, Pierre; Kara, Hichem; Lelong, Patrick; Mangialajo, Luisa; Miniconi, Roger; Quignard, Jean-Pierre (2010). "Recent Occurrences of Opah, Lampris guttatus (Actinopterygii, Lampriformes, Lampridae), in the Western Mediterranean Sea". Acta Ichthyologica Et Piscatoria. 40 (1): 91–98. doi:10.3750/AIP2010.40.1.15. ISSN 0137-1592.
- ^ a b Richardson, David E.; Llopiz, Joel K.; Guigand, Cedric M.; Cowen, Robert K. (2010). "Larval assemblages of large and medium-sized pelagic species in the Straits of Florida". Progress in Oceanography. 86 (1–2): 8–20. doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2010.04.005. ISSN 0079-6611.
- ^ a b c Wegner, Nicholas C., Snodgrass, Owen E., Dewar, Heidi, John, Hyde R. Science. "Whole-body endothermy in a mesopelagic fish, the opah, Lampris guttatus". pp. 786–789. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
- ^ Warm Blood Makes Opah an Agile Predator. Fisheries Resources Division of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. May 12, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015. "New research by NOAA Fisheries has revealed the opah, or moonfish, as the first fully warm-blooded fish that circulates heated blood throughout its body..."
- ^ a b Yong, Ed. "Meet the Comical Opah, the Only Truly Warm-Blooded Fish". Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ Bray, Dianne. "Opah, Lampris guttatus". Fishes of Australia. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ^ Runcie R. 2006. Cranial endothermy in the moonfish (Lampris guttatus)
- ^ (Oelschlaeger H. 1976).
Further reading
- Parin NV and Kukuev EI. 1983. Reestablishment of the validity of lampris immaculata gilchrist and the geographical distribution of lampridae. Voprosy Ikhtiologii.Moscow 23(1):3-14.