Smallscale lizardfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Smallscale lizardfish |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: |
Aulopiformes
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| Family: |
Synodontidae
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| Genus: |
Saurida
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| Species: |
S. caribbaea
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| Binomial name | |
| Saurida caribbaea Breder, 1927
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The smallscale lizardfish (Saurida caribbaea) is a type of fish that looks a bit like a lizard! It mostly lives in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean.
Contents
About the Smallscale Lizardfish
The smallscale lizardfish lives in the ocean, usually near the bottom. It can be found in waters from about 6 to 460 meters deep. However, it is most often seen between 20 and 215 meters deep. This fish prefers warm, tropical climates.
An average adult male smallscale lizardfish is about 18 centimeters (or about 7 inches) long. You can find this fish in many places in the Western Atlantic. This includes areas like northeastern Florida in the USA, the northern Gulf of Mexico, the Guianas, the western Bahamas, Cuba, and Uruguay.
Different Names for This Fish
The Saurida caribbaea has many common names around the world:
- Spanish: chile caribeño
- Spanish: chile espinoso
- Japanese: Karibu-eso
- Spanish: Lagarto caribeño
- English: Lizardfish
- Spanish: Pez lagarto
- English: shortjaw lizardfish
- English: Smallescale Lizardfish
- English: Smallscale lizardfish
- Danish: Småskællet øglefisk
- Chinese: 加勒比蛇鯔
- Mandarin Chinese: 加勒比蛇鲻
What Does It Look Like?
The smallscale lizardfish has a thin, long body that is shaped like a cylinder. Its head is pointed, and it has large eyes. The snout (its nose area) is about the same length as its eye.
Its mouth is big and opens slightly upwards at the front. The lower jaw is longer than the upper jaw, and you can see it from above even when the mouth is closed. Inside its mouth, it has many rows of fine, pointed teeth on its jaws and tongue. It also has two bands of teeth on the roof of its mouth.
This fish does not have any sharp spines on its fins. It has one main fin on its back, in the middle of its body. Behind this fin, there is a small, soft flap-like fin located above its anal fin (the fin on its underside near the tail). Its pelvic fins are on its belly, behind its pectoral fins (the fins on its sides, like arms). These pelvic fins have 9 rays, and the inner rays are about the same length as the outer ones.
The pectoral fins are fairly long, reaching well past the start of the pelvic fins. The fish's scales are smooth. A straight line of scales, called the lateral line, runs along its entire body. This line helps the fish sense movements in the water. The tail fin has scales only at the base of its main rays, not on the smaller rays at the top and bottom. It has between 51 and 60 scales along its lateral line. There are 4 rows of scales between the lateral line and the dorsal fin, and 18 to 21 scales before the dorsal fin.
The smallscale lizardfish is light brown on top and yellowish underneath. Its back has dark blotches, which are not shaped like saddles. It also has irregular brown spots along and above its lateral line. The dorsal fin is somewhat dark with a dark edge.
How Many Are There?
This type of lizardfish is common and can be found in large numbers in certain areas. Scientists have recorded many sightings of this fish, sometimes finding up to 42 individuals in one group. It is a common lizardfish in the waters near Brazil.
Where Can You Find It?
This fish lives in the western Atlantic Ocean. Its range stretches from North Carolina in the USA, south along the coast, and includes the northern Bahamas and north-central Cuba. It is also found throughout the Gulf of Mexico (except near Cuba), in the Caribbean Sea (around Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Saba Atoll), and along the coasts of Central and South America, from Mexico down to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It lives at depths ranging from 10 to 460 meters.
Habitat and Ecology
This fish lives near the bottom of the ocean, in areas far from shore. It prefers soft, sandy, or muddy bottoms on the edges of the continent, where the land slopes down into the deep ocean. Sometimes, it can also be found in shallow waters closer to the coast. The largest smallscale lizardfish found was about 15 centimeters (6 inches) long, but they are commonly around 10 centimeters (4 inches).
What Does It Eat?
The smallscale lizardfish mainly eats other small bony fish. It also enjoys eating small creatures that live on the ocean floor, like shrimp and crabs.
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012). "Saurida caribbaea" in FishBase. April 2012 version.
