Snake mackerel
Encyclopedia
Gempylidae is a family of perciform fishes, commonly known as snake mackerels or escolars.
They are elongate fishes with a similar appearance to barracuda
s, having a long dorsal fin
, usually with one or finlets trailing it. The largest species, including the snoek
, Thyrsites atun
, grow up to two metres long. Like the barracudas, they are predators, with fang-like teeth.
They are deep-water benthopelagic fishes, and several species are important commercial and game fishes.
The longfin escolar
, Scombrolabrax heterolepis, was formerly classified in this family, but it is now placed in its own family Scombrolabracidae.
They are elongate fishes with a similar appearance to barracuda
Barracuda
The barracuda is a ray-finned fish known for its large size and fearsome appearance. Its body is long, fairly compressed, and covered with small, smooth scales. Some species could reach up to 1.8m in length and 30 cm in width...
s, having a long dorsal fin
Dorsal 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...
, usually with one or finlets trailing it. The largest species, including the snoek
Snoek
-People with the surname Snoek:*Hendrik Snoek - Belgian show jumper*Paul Snoek - Belgian poetSnoek or Snook is used in various forms as the common name for several species of fish...
, Thyrsites atun
Thyrsites atun
Thyrsites atun, the "snoek" or "Cape snoek", is a long, thin, perch-like commercial food fish belonging to the Gempylidae family. It is found in the seas of the Southern Hemisphere. It is also known in Australasia as barracouta though it is not related to the barracuda.It can grow up to long and...
, grow up to two metres long. Like the barracudas, they are predators, with fang-like teeth.
They are deep-water benthopelagic fishes, and several species are important commercial and game fishes.
Species
There are 24 species in sixteen genera:- Genus Diplospinus
- Striped escolar, Diplospinus multistriatus Maul, 1948.
- Genus Epinnula
- DomineDomine (fish)The domine is a tropical fish in the family Gempylidae . Domine are deepwater fish so are not frequently caught by fishermen. It is considered rare, but is not listed in the IUCN Red List....
, Epinnula magistralis PoeyFelipe Poey-Biography:Poey was born in Havana, the son of French and Spanish parents. He spent several years of his life in Pau then studied law in Madrid. He became a lawyer in Spain but was forced to leave due to his liberal ideas, returning to Cuba in 1823. He began to concentrate on the study of the...
, 1854.
- Domine
- Genus Gempylus
- Snake mackerelSnake mackerelGempylidae is a family of perciform fishes, commonly known as snake mackerels or escolars.They are elongate fishes with a similar appearance to barracudas, having a long dorsal fin, usually with one or finlets trailing it. The largest species, including the snoek, Thyrsites atun, grow up to two...
, Gempylus serpens CuvierGeorges CuvierGeorges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
, 1829.
- Snake mackerel
- Genus Lepidocybium
- EscolarEscolarThe escolar, Lepidocybium flavobrunneum, a species of fish in the family Gempylidae, is found in deep tropical and temperate waters around the world...
, Lepidocybium flavobrunneum (Smith, 1843).
- Escolar
- Genus Nealotus
- Black snake mackerel, Nealotus tripes Johnson, 1865.
- Genus Neoepinnula
- American sackfish, Neoepinnula americana (Grey, 1953).
- Sackfish, Neoepinnula orientalis (Gilchrist & von Bonde, 1924).
- Genus Nesiarchus
- Black gemfish, Nesiarchus nasutus Johnson, 1862.
- Genus Paradiplospinus
- Antarctic escolar, Paradiplospinus antarcticus Andriashev, 1960.
- Slender escolar, Paradiplospinus gracilis (Brauer, 1906).
- Genus Promethichthys
- Roudi escolar, Promethichthys prometheus (CuvierGeorges CuvierGeorges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
, 1832).
- Roudi escolar, Promethichthys prometheus (Cuvier
- Genus Rexea
- Rexea alisae Roberts & Stewart, 1997.
- Long-finned escolar, Rexea antefurcata Parin, 1989.
- Bengal escolar, Rexea bengalensis (AlcockAlfred William AlcockAlfred William Alcock was a British physician naturalist and carcinologist.Alcock was the son of a sea-captain, John Alcock in Bombay, India who retired to live in Blackheath...
, 1894). - Short-lined escolar, Rexea brevilineata Parin, 1989.
- Nakamura's escolar, Rexea nakamurai Parin, 1989.
- Royal escolar, Rexea prometheoides (BleekerPieter BleekerPieter Bleeker was a Dutch medical doctor and ichthyologist, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia – Atlas Ichthyologique des Orientales Neerlandaises – which was published 1862–1877....
, 1856). - Silver gemfishSilver gemfishThe silver gemfish or gemfish, Rexea solandri, is a snake mackerel of the genus Rexea, found in south eastern Australia and around New Zealand at depths of between 100 and 700 m...
or Gemfish, Rexea solandri (CuvierGeorges CuvierGeorges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
, 1832).
- Genus Rexichthys
- Paxton's escolar, Rexichthys johnpaxtoni Parin & Astakhov, 1987.
- Genus Ruvettus
- OilfishOilfishThe oilfish, Ruvettus pretiosus, is a species of snake mackerel in the family Gempylidae, and the only species in the genus Ruvettus. It is found in the Mediterranean, middle Atlantic and throughout the southern seas, at depths between 100 and 800 m...
, Ruvettus pretiosus Cocco, 1833.
- Oilfish
- Genus Thyrsites
- Snoek, Thyrsites atunThyrsites atunThyrsites atun, the "snoek" or "Cape snoek", is a long, thin, perch-like commercial food fish belonging to the Gempylidae family. It is found in the seas of the Southern Hemisphere. It is also known in Australasia as barracouta though it is not related to the barracuda.It can grow up to long and...
(Euphrasen, 1791).
- Snoek, Thyrsites atun
- Genus Thyrsitoides
- Black snoek, Thyrsitoides marleyi Fowler, 1929.
- Genus Thyrsitops
- White snake mackerel, Thyrsitops lepidopoides (CuvierGeorges CuvierGeorges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
, 1832).
- White snake mackerel, Thyrsitops lepidopoides (Cuvier
- Genus Tongaichthys
- Tonga escolar, Tongaichthys robustus Nakamura & Fujii, 1983.
The longfin escolar
Longfin escolar
The longfin escolar, Scombrolabrax heterolepis, also known as the black mackerel, is a widespread but uncommon deep sea fish that presents some difficulties for taxonomy....
, Scombrolabrax heterolepis, was formerly classified in this family, but it is now placed in its own family Scombrolabracidae.