Black cardinal fish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Black cardinal fish |
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The black cardinal fish (scientific name: Epigonus telescopus) is a fascinating species of deepwater cardinalfish. It lives in many of the world's temperate oceans. You can find it very deep, usually between 300 and 800 meters (about 980 to 2,600 feet) below the surface. This fish can grow up to 75 centimeters (about 30 inches) long. Some black cardinal fish have even lived for over 100 years!
What Does the Black Cardinal Fish Look Like?
The black cardinal fish has a body that is not very tall. It has very large eyes and a snout that is a bit flat. Its lower jaw sticks out a little bit.
This fish has two dorsal fins (fins on its back). The first dorsal fin has seven or eight strong spines. The second dorsal fin has nine to eleven soft rays. The anal fin (fin on its belly) has two spines and nine soft rays. The fish is usually purplish-brown or black. When it is alive, it can look shiny and colorful.
Where Does This Fish Live?
The black cardinal fish is a deepwater fish. This means it lives both near the bottom of the ocean and in the open water above it. It makes its home on continental slopes, which are the edges of continents under the sea. It also lives on undersea ridges and seamounts (underwater mountains).
You can find this fish in many places around the world. It lives in the northern Atlantic Ocean, from Iceland down to the Canary Islands. It is also found in the southeastern Atlantic, near Africa. You can also spot it in the Indian Ocean and the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
Black Cardinal Fish and Fishing
People catch black cardinal fish for commercial fisheries. This means they are caught to be sold in markets. Most of these fish are caught around seamounts.
Between 2000 and 2009, people caught thousands of tonnes of black cardinal fish each year. Most of these fish were caught in the Southwest Pacific Ocean.
