Dactylopterus volitans
Encyclopedia
The flying gurnard, Dactylopterus volitans, is a fish of tropical to warm temperate waters on both sides of the Atlantic, found as far north as New Jersey
and south as Brazil
, and from the English Channel
to Angola
.
As of August 2009, The flying gurnard has been seen by SCUBA divers in beds of sea grass off the north coast of the Dominican Republic in less than 10 feet of water. When calm, the fish looks fairly normal, other than its odd box shape. When excited, the fish spreads its "wings", which are semi-transparent but tipped with a beautiful and phosphorescent bright blue coloration (designed to scare away predators). The prominent front portion of the "wing" is shaped much like the foot of an amphibian, which causes the fish to take on a "lizard-like" look.
The fish also has large eyes and the head is similar to species of a porcupine pufferfish.
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and south as Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and from the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
to Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
.
As of August 2009, The flying gurnard has been seen by SCUBA divers in beds of sea grass off the north coast of the Dominican Republic in less than 10 feet of water. When calm, the fish looks fairly normal, other than its odd box shape. When excited, the fish spreads its "wings", which are semi-transparent but tipped with a beautiful and phosphorescent bright blue coloration (designed to scare away predators). The prominent front portion of the "wing" is shaped much like the foot of an amphibian, which causes the fish to take on a "lizard-like" look.
The fish also has large eyes and the head is similar to species of a porcupine pufferfish.
External links
- http://www.gma.org/fogm/Dactylopterus_volitans.htm
- http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=1021