Cepola macrophthalma
Encyclopedia
Cepola macrophthalma is a fish of the of the bandfish
family
Cepolidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean from Senegal
north to Norway
. This species is known as the red bandfish, though this name is also given to other members of the genus Cepola
.
of the eastern Atlantic between northern Senegal
and Norway
and the Mediterranean west of the Aegean Sea
and the Nile Delta
. It can be found on sandy and muddy ocean bottoms at depths of between 10 and 400 m (32.8 and 1,312.3 ft).
and anal fins stretch the length of its body and are nearly continuous with its tail (caudal fin). It has a large mouth, at an oblique angle, with thin, glassy, widely-spaced teeth.
These fish are highly variable in length, but an average length is 40.0 cm total length
(15.7 in). The maximum length recorded for this species is 80.0 cm total length (31.5 in). Taxonomic distinguishing features include 67–70 dorsal fin soft rays
, 60 anal fin soft rays, two unsegmented dorsal fin rays, and a caudal fin with long median rays free at the tips.
off the coast of Devon
. Since then, many studies have been conducted on the population there, and on captive fish from Lundy. The population at Lundy once comprised around 14,000 individuals, but numbers have dropped severely, despite a ban on fishing in Lundy's waters.
These fish are burrowers, and they feed largely like garden eel
s, sticking their bodies out of their burrows to catch zooplankton
. Unlike garden eels, they are not fixed in their burrows, but can move about both inside their burrows and in the open. Their burrows have funnel-shaped openings, due to the large quantities of sediments they displace to construct their burrows, and they consist largely of single elliptical vertical shafts with a chamber at the bottom. The burrows reach depths of up to 1 metres (39.4 in), and 49 centimetres (19.3 in) is considered to be typical. Bandfish excavate and maintain their burrows at dawn or dusk, with their mouth, and by pushing mud about with their body. They displace about three litres (three quarters of a gallon) of mud and sand in the excavation of a single burrow, and they take around six hours to construct their burrows. Their burrows often connect with those of the crab Goneplax rhomboides
and other burrowing fish and crustaceans, and these associations may be deliberate.
Bandfish are an important part of the diets of many oceanic predators, especially john dories
, but also other fish, common dolphin
s and the musky octopus, Eledone moschata
. Bandfish may have taken up an ecological niche
burrowing and eating zooplakton due to strong pressures from predators.
, was for this species. Andrew Dalby
translated it as follows:
Tainia was the name by which the ancient Greeks called Cepola macrophthalma, and the oil was, of course, olive oil
. In modern times the species is of a lesser importance. In some countries (such as Italy and Spain) it is still consumed, but in others (such as Greece) it is generally discarded when caught by fishermen trying to catch more desirable species. This fish is prized by British deep-sea anglers, and poaching by anglers is a major threat to the population at Lundy.
Bandfish
Bandfishes are a family, Cepolidae, of perciform fishes. They are native to the Atlantic seaboard of Europe and the West Pacific, including New Zealand. They dig burrows in sandy or muddy seabed and eat zooplankton....
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Cepolidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean from Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
north to Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. This species is known as the red bandfish, though this name is also given to other members of the genus Cepola
Cepola
Cepola is a genus of marine fish in the bandfish family Cepolidae. The name red bandfish is applied to all members of this genus, but particularly C. macrophthalma, and generally not C...
.
Distribution
It is found on the coast and inner continental shelfContinental shelf
The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain. Much of the shelf was exposed during glacial periods, but is now submerged under relatively shallow seas and gulfs, and was similarly submerged during other interglacial periods. The continental margin,...
of the eastern Atlantic between northern Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and the Mediterranean west of the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
and the Nile Delta
Nile Delta
The Nile Delta is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east, it covers some 240 km of Mediterranean coastline—and is a rich...
. It can be found on sandy and muddy ocean bottoms at depths of between 10 and 400 m (32.8 and 1,312.3 ft).
Description
Cepola macrophthalma has a thin, ribbon-like body, which tapers to a pointed tail. It is red in color, with an orange or yellow underside. It has large, silvery eyes. Its dorsalDorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...
and anal fins stretch the length of its body and are nearly continuous with its tail (caudal fin). It has a large mouth, at an oblique angle, with thin, glassy, widely-spaced teeth.
These fish are highly variable in length, but an average length is 40.0 cm total length
Fish measurement
Fish measurement refers to the measuring of the length of individual fish and of various parts of their anatomy. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology.-Overall length:...
(15.7 in). The maximum length recorded for this species is 80.0 cm total length (31.5 in). Taxonomic distinguishing features include 67–70 dorsal fin soft rays
Fish anatomy
Fish anatomy is primarily governed by the physical characteristics of water, which is much denser than air, holds a relatively small amount of dissolved oxygen, and absorbs more light than air does.- Body :...
, 60 anal fin soft rays, two unsegmented dorsal fin rays, and a caudal fin with long median rays free at the tips.
Ecology and behavior
Little was known of the behavior of this species until a population was discovered off the coast of the island of LundyLundy
Lundy is the largest island in the Bristol Channel, lying off the coast of Devon, England, approximately one third of the distance across the channel between England and Wales. It measures about at its widest. Lundy gives its name to a British sea area and is one of the islands of England.As of...
off the coast of Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. Since then, many studies have been conducted on the population there, and on captive fish from Lundy. The population at Lundy once comprised around 14,000 individuals, but numbers have dropped severely, despite a ban on fishing in Lundy's waters.
These fish are burrowers, and they feed largely like garden eel
Garden eel
Heteroconger cobra, sometimes known as the cobra garden eel, is a species of garden eel of the family Congridae, found in the western Central Pacific from Honiara, the Solomon Islands to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea....
s, sticking their bodies out of their burrows to catch zooplankton
Zooplankton
Zooplankton are heterotrophic plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The word "zooplankton" is derived from the Greek zoon , meaning "animal", and , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter"...
. Unlike garden eels, they are not fixed in their burrows, but can move about both inside their burrows and in the open. Their burrows have funnel-shaped openings, due to the large quantities of sediments they displace to construct their burrows, and they consist largely of single elliptical vertical shafts with a chamber at the bottom. The burrows reach depths of up to 1 metres (39.4 in), and 49 centimetres (19.3 in) is considered to be typical. Bandfish excavate and maintain their burrows at dawn or dusk, with their mouth, and by pushing mud about with their body. They displace about three litres (three quarters of a gallon) of mud and sand in the excavation of a single burrow, and they take around six hours to construct their burrows. Their burrows often connect with those of the crab Goneplax rhomboides
Goneplax rhomboides
Goneplax rhomboides is a species of crab. It is known by the common name angular crab because of its angular carapace. Although it is also called the square crab, its shell is in fact more trapezoidal than square...
and other burrowing fish and crustaceans, and these associations may be deliberate.
Bandfish are an important part of the diets of many oceanic predators, especially john dories
John Dory
John Dory, also known as St Pierre or Peter's Fish, refers to fish of the genus Zeus, especially Zeus faber, of widespread distribution. It is an edible benthic coastal marine fish with a laterally compressed olive-yellow body which has a large dark spot, and long spines on the dorsal fin...
, but also other fish, common dolphin
Common dolphin
The common dolphin is the name given to two species of dolphin making up the genus Delphinus.Prior to the mid-1990s, most taxonomists only recognised one species in this genus, the common dolphin Delphinus delphis...
s and the musky octopus, Eledone moschata
Eledone moschata
Eledone moschata, the musky octopus, is a species of octopus that lives in the Mediterranean Sea. It grows up to long, and feeds on a wide range of crustaceans, molluscs and fish.-Distribution:...
. Bandfish may have taken up an ecological niche
Ecological niche
In ecology, a niche is a term describing the relational position of a species or population in its ecosystem to each other; e.g. a dolphin could potentially be in another ecological niche from one that travels in a different pod if the members of these pods utilize significantly different food...
burrowing and eating zooplakton due to strong pressures from predators.
As food
Historically, this species was an important food fish. The earliest recorded recipe, by the Greek cook MithaecusMithaecus
Mithaecus was a cook and cookbook author of the late 5th century BC. A Greek-speaking native of Sicily at a time when the island was rich and highly civilized, Mithaecus is credited with having brought knowledge of Sicilian gastronomy to Greece...
, was for this species. Andrew Dalby
Andrew Dalby
Andrew Dalby is an English linguist, translator and historian who has written articles and several books on a wide range of topics including food history, language, Classical texts, and Wikipedia.-Education and early career:...
translated it as follows:
Tainia: gut, discard the head, rinse, slice; add cheese and oil.
Tainia was the name by which the ancient Greeks called Cepola macrophthalma, and the oil was, of course, olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
. In modern times the species is of a lesser importance. In some countries (such as Italy and Spain) it is still consumed, but in others (such as Greece) it is generally discarded when caught by fishermen trying to catch more desirable species. This fish is prized by British deep-sea anglers, and poaching by anglers is a major threat to the population at Lundy.