Barred flagtail facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Barred flagtail |
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The barred flagtail (scientific name: Kuhlia mugil) is a cool fish that lives in the ocean. It's also known as the fiveband flagtail or five-bar flagtail. This fish is part of a group called flagtails, which are all in the Kuhliidae family. You can find them in the warm waters of the Indo-Pacific region.
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What Does the Barred Flagtail Look Like?
The barred flagtail has a body that is a bit flat on the sides, like a squashed oval. It has a big eye and a mouth that points upwards a little, with its lower jaw sticking out. Its body is covered in medium-sized scales that feel a bit rough.
Most of the time, this fish is shiny silver. Sometimes, the top part of its body might look a bit blue, brown, or yellow. A special thing about this fish is its tail fin. It has five dark stripes that go across it, with lighter areas in between. The top fin on its back also has a dark band, but the very front tip is white. The tip of its nose and chin are dark too.
The fin on its back has a deep dip in the middle. It has 10 strong spines and 10 or 11 soft rays. The fin on its belly has 3 spines and 10 to 12 soft rays. These fish can grow up to about 40 centimeters (about 16 inches) long!
Where Do Barred Flagtails Live?
Barred flagtails are found in a huge area across the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. You can see them from the Red Sea and the coast of east Africa, all the way to islands in the eastern Pacific like Clipperton Island, Cocos Island, and Revillagigedo Islands.
They also live north of southern Japan and south down to Australia. In Australia, they are found from the Torres Strait down to Seal Rocks, New South Wales. They also live around Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea, and Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. In the eastern Pacific, they are found near Baja California and along the coast from Costa Rica to Colombia. However, you won't find them in places like the Marquesas, Hawaii, or Easter Island.
Where Do Barred Flagtails Hang Out?
These fish love to live on coral reefs. They usually swim in water that is about 3 to 18 meters (10 to 60 feet) deep. They often swim together in big, tight groups called schools. Young barred flagtails can sometimes be found in tide pools, which are small pools of water left behind when the tide goes out.
Sometimes, people have seen these fish in estuaries, which are places where rivers meet the sea. But they never live in fresh water. Barred flagtails are active at night. They hunt for their food when it's dark, mostly eating tiny sea creatures called zooplankton and small fish.
How Are Barred Flagtails Used?
People catch barred flagtails for a few different reasons. They are caught for food, used as bait for other fish, and sometimes kept in aquariums. Fishermen use special nets called seines or gill nets, or they catch them with a hook and line. Once caught, the fish are often sold fresh, or they might be dried and salted to preserve them.
