Tinselfish

Xenolepidichthys dalgleishi

FAMILY

Grammicolepidae

TAXONOMY

Xenolepidichthys dalgleishi Gilchrist, 1922, Natal, South Africa.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Diamond dory; spotted tinselfish.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Attains a total length (including tail fin) of about 6 in (15 cm). The head and body are greatly compressed and vertically elongated, shaped like a flattened diamond. The body, cheeks, and operculum are covered with vertically elongated scales. The mouth is small and the maxilla, which has two or three ridges, is bound to the ascending processes of the premaxillae and loosely connected to the palatines. The jaws have one or two rows of minute, slender teeth; the vomer has a few minute, slender teeth. There are two dorsal fins, the first with five spines and the second with 27–30 unbranched soft rays. The anal fin has two spines and 27–29 unbranched rays. The tail fin has 13 branched rays, and the pelvic fins have one spine and six branched rays. There is a row of 29 small spines along each side of the dorsal fin and 26–27 small spines along the anal fin base. Juveniles have a greatly elongated (two or three times the length of the fish) first anal fin spine and second dorsal fin spine. The body is silvery with scattered, round black spots; the rear margin of tail fin is dusky.

DISTRIBUTION

Western Atlantic from Canada to southern Brazil and eastern Atlantic from Senegal to South Africa; also in Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga.

HABITAT

Usually taken near the bottom in depths of 666–1,333 ft (200–400 m) but also taken in midwater and at the surface of the open ocean.

BEHAVIOR

The behavior of the tinselfish is poorly known, as this species is rarely observed in shallow water.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

There is no information. Probably feeds on zooplankton and small benthic invertebrates. The tinselfish is prey for some sharks, lancetfishes, scombrids, carangids, and gempylids.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

There is no information. Probably a broadcast spawner.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not listed by IUCN.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.

Tinselfishes
Thorny tinselfish, Grammicolepis brachiusculus, filmed by the NOAA Ocean Explorer at Northampton Seamounts, 40 miles (65 km) southwest of Laysan, Hawaii.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Zeiformes Family: Grammicolepididae
Genera
Grammicolepis Macrurocyttus Xenolepidichthys See text for species.

Grammicolepididae is a small family of deep-sea fishes, called tinselfishes due to their silvery color.

They are related to the dories, and have similar deeply compressed bodies. The largest species, the thorny tinselfish, Grammicolepis brachiusculus, grows up to 64 cm long.

They are found in isolated areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, where they inhabit deep waters: they have been found down to about 1,000 m.

Species

There are three species in three genera:

• Genus Grammicolepis
  • Thorny tinselfish, Grammicolepis brachiusculus Poey, 1873.
• Genus Macrurocyttus
  • Macrurocyttus acanthopodus Fowler, 1934.
• Genus Xenolepidichthys
  • Spotted tinselfish, Xenolepidichthys dalgleishi Gilchrist, 1922.

References

• "Grammicolepididae". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. February 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
• Thorny Tinselfish. Australian Museum Fish Site. Retrieved on 30 March, 2006.

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