Marine Bio

ODD SHAPED SWIMMERS

By Daniel Rezac

ODD SHAPED SWIMMERS

puffersboxfishes triggerfishes filefishesdrums croakers.

PUFFERS of Ambergris Caye

Puffer Fish- Family Tetraodontidae Number of Species: 121 Chiefly marine. Many going into and inhabiting brackish and

freshwater. Distribution: tropical and subtropical areas of Atlantic, Indian and

Pacific. Naked or with short prickles in belly. Jaw teeth fused but separated by a median suture in each jaw, giving rise to 4 fused teeth.

Capable of greatly inflating themselves with water. Attains 90 cm maximum length. Some puffers contain tetraodotoxin, especially in the viscera; in the gonads of some during spawning season. European Community legislation prohibits trading with puffer fish products. Some species seem to comsume about everything, whereas others have preferences for certain invertebrates or algae. Demersal eggs are laid in a nest and presumably defended.


Southern Puffer- Sphoeroides nephelus



Maximum Size: 30.0 cm (male)

Depth Range: Depth range 0 - 11 m

What to Look For: Upper side brown with large dark grey to black spots and light (pale blue or green in fresh specimens) irregular-shaped reticulations.

Sexually mature, ripe males sometimes covered with brilliant red or orange spots of about 1 mm in

diameter

What they eat: Feeds primarily on shellfish, also on some finfish.

Dangerous? Harmless




Bandtail Puffer- Sphoeroides spengleri




Depth Range: 2 - 70 m

What to Look For: Sharply defined round black spots on head and lower side of body. The numerous tan lappers on the rear part of the body and distinct

spots along the lower side make it unmistakable

What they eat: Feeds on mollusks, crustaceans and echinoderms.

Dangerous? Poisonous to eat.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD5Y3KWQxLE







Sharpnose Puffer -Canthigaster rostrata


Sharpnose Puffer -Canthigaster rostrataMaximum Size: 12.0 cm (male)


What to Look For: Distinguished from all other Atlantic species by a short upper dark longitudinal stripe, presence of few spots on flank and dorsum, and absence of a conspicuous (larger than eye) spot

on the dorsum.

What they eat: Diet consists of seagrass, sponges, crabs and other crustaceans, mollusks, polychaete

worms, sea urchins, starfishes, hydroids and algae .

Dangerous? Harmless and Monogamous

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nIrElKJExM


Sharpnose Puffer -Canthigaster rostrata

BOXFISH of Ambergris Caye

Boxfish Fish- Family Ostraciidae


Boxfish - Family Ostraciidae Number of Species: 33

Distribution: Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. A bony carapace enclosing body. Pelvic skeleton absent. Vertebrae usually 18. Some species of trunkfishes secrete ostracitoxin, poisonous to other fishes and, to some extent, even to trunkfishes. Feed on small sessile invertebrates and on algae. They are territorial and haremic, spawning pelagic eggs at dusk. Not recommended for aquaria. Other common names in use are cowfishes and trunkfishes. About 60 cm maximum length.

Honeycomb Cowfish- Acanthostracion polygonius

Maximum Size: 50.0 cm


What to Look For: Bold pattern of hexagons outlined by narrow dark lines; centers and areas between

hexagons pale. Purplish blue on sides and ventrally

What they eat: Occurs in clear water around coral reefs. Feeds on sponges, alcyonarians, tunicates, and shrimp. Uncommon and wary.

Dangerous? Consumed fresh, generally roasted.

Boxfish of Ambergris Caye


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_DTVkavmts




Acanthostracion quadricornis - Scrawled cowfish


Depth Range: - 80 m

What to Look For: Dark markings on head and body; parallel bands on cheek. Pair of prominent spines projecting from in front of eyes suggests cow horns. Second pair of spines. Body deep, covered

with hexagonal dermal plates

What they eat: Feeds on sessile invertebrates such as tunicates, gorgonians and anemones, as well as on slow-moving crustaceans, sponges, hermit crabs and marine plants.

Dangerous? Considered an excellent food fish; marketed fresh.


Acanthostracion quadricornis - Scrawled cowfish


Acanthostracion (Lactophrys) quadricornis - Scrawled cowfish

Triggerfish of Ambergris Caye

Family Balistidae - Triggerfishes Number of Species: 40

Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Usually compressed body. Capable of rotating eyeballs independently. Popular and hardy in aquaria, but often aggressive.


Balistes vetula - Queen triggerfish


Balistes vetula - Queen triggerfishMaximum Size: 60.0 cm (male)


What to Look For: Greenish or bluish gray on back, orange-yellow on lower part of head and abdomen, with two broad diagonal curved bright blue bands running from snout to below and in front of pectoral fins, the lowermost continuous with a blue ring around lips.

What they eat: Found over rocky or coral areas. May form schools, sometimes solitary over sand and grassy areas. Feeds mainly on benthic invertebrates. It preys on sea urchins by blowing water to overturn it and then attacks it where the spines are short (Ref. 9710).

Dangerous? Excellent food fish but occasionally can cause intoxication due to the liver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjTSCnYNQNk&feature=related


Balistes vetula - Queen triggerfish

FileFish of Ambergris Caye

Family Monacanthidae - Filefishes Number of Species: 95

Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Usually two dorsal spines; Upper jaw usually with three teeth in outer and two in the inner series, developed for nibbling; 19-31 vertebrae. Alutera scripta reaches 1 m maximum length. Most species feed on a wide variety of benthic invertebrates, but some specialize on corals or zooplankton. Filefishes lay demersal eggs in a site prepared and guarded by the male or both parents. Some of the subtropical species release eggs in open water.

Filefishes of Ambergris Caye

Scrawled Filefish -Aluterus scriptus

FileFishes of Ambergris Caye

Scrawled Filefish -Aluterus scriptusMaximum Size: 110 cm (male)


What to Look For: olive brown to grey in color, juveniles may be yellowish brown with dark spots. Elongate, strongly compressed filefish; tan with blue lines and spots. Gill opening oblique, body and head with scattered small black spots.

What they eat: Feeds mainly on benthic invertebrates. It preys on sea urchins by blowing water to overturn it and then attacks it where the spines are short.

Seen?: Inhabit lagoon and seaward reefs.Occasionally are seen under floating objects. Juveniles may travel with weed rafts in open ocean for a long time and reaching a large size. Adults are usually seen along deep coastal slopes or outer reef drop-offs in about 20 meters depth

Dangerous? Reports of ciguatera poisoning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INNHdXYXBuw

What is Ciguatera?

Ciguatera poisoning is the most common nonbacterial, fish-borne poisoning in the United States.

From : www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic100.htm


Scrawled Filefish -Aluterus scriptus


Orangespotted Filefish -Cantherhinus pullus

FileFishes of Ambergris Caye




What to Look For: Body with small scattered orange spots, many of which have brown centers, and whitish spots of same size; dull yellow lines on head which run towards snout, those near eye alternating with bluish lines.

What they eat: Feeds on bottom growth, primarily sponge and algae,

Where?: Found in shallow water and around coral and rocky reefs (Ref. 3790). Usually remains near the bottom, hiding among

gorgonians and branching coral.

Dangerous? Reports of ciguatera poisoning



Drums and Croakers of Ambergris Caye

Family Sciaenidae - Drums or croakers Number of Species: 270

Drums or croakers are distributed in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Dorsal fin long, having a deep notch between the spinous and soft-rayed parts, but the parts rarely separate. Some species with 1 barbel or a patch of small barbels on chin. Large cavernous canals in head. Snout and lower jaw with conspicuous pores. Vertebrae 24-29. Bottom dwelling carnivores, feeding on benthic invertebrates and small fishes. Juveniles are popular aquarium fishes, but difficult to maintain.


Odontoscion dentex - Reef croaker




What to Look For: No barbels; brownish silver with dark dots on scales; a large black spot at base and axil of pectoral fins

What they eat: Feeds on bottom growth, primarily sponge and algae,

Where?: Inhabits caves and crevices or among corals. Feeds at night mainly on shrimps and small fishes and their larvae.

Dangerous? Harmless





Jackknife Fish -Equetus lanceolatus




What to Look For: Very high first dorsal fin with a short base. Gray with three white-edged dark brown to black bands,

What they eat: Inhabits bays and sounds; also deep coral reefs. Juveniles sometimes inshore. Easily approached.

Where?: Inhabits caves and crevices or among corals. Feeds at night mainly on shrimps and small fishes and their larvae.

Dangerous? reports of ciguatera poisoning




References http://www.fishbase.org Hol Chan Census

http://ambergriscaye.com/holchan/4.html YouTube

Queen Triggerfish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjTSCnYNQNk&feature=related

Scrawled Filefish:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INNHdXYXBuw

Dancing Cowfish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_DTVkavmts

Sharpnose Puffer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nIrElKJExM

http://www.fishbase.org/

http://ambergriscaye.com/holchan/4.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_DTVkavmts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nIrElKJExM

Marine Bio

Lifestyle

puffer fish products

atlantic species

black spots

maledepth range

species of trunkfishes

distinct spots

orange spots

jaw teeth