Page 366 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

364 ANIMAL LIFE

ORDER PERCIFORMES large, square head and its mouth slants ORDER PERCIFORMES ORDER PERCIFORMES
obliquely upward. This allows it to
Common Stargazer breathe and to see while remaining Greater Weever Sand Eel
almost completely buried and is
Kathetostoma laeve probably the reason behind its Trachinus draco Ammodytes tobianus
LENGTH Up to 30 in unusual name. Its large, white-edged LENGTH LENGTH
(75 cm) pectoral fins help it to lunge out of Up to 20 in (50 cm) Up to 8 in (20 cm)
WEIGHT Not recorded the sand and engulf passing fish and WEIGHT WEIGHT
crustaceans. Common stargazers have Up to 4 1 / 2 lb (2 kg) Not recorded
DEPTH 200 ft (0–60 m),
possibly 550 ft (150 m) also occasionally bitten divers who DEPTH DEPTH
have inadvertently disturbed them 3–500 ft (1–150 m) 0–100 ft (0–30 m)
DISTRIBUTION Temperate waters of Indian Ocean while on night dives, when they are DISTRIBUTION Temperate waters of northeastern DISTRIBUTION Temperate waters of northeastern
around southern Australia particularly difficult to spot. Anglers Atlantic and Mediterranean Atlantic and Baltic Sea
face a greater threat if they catch a
Looking like a cross between a bulldog common stargazer. Careless handling The greater weever is one of very few Shimmering shoals of sand eels are
and a seal, the common stargazer can result in a painful sting from venomous fish found in European a familiar sight in shallow sandy bays
normally lies buried in shelly sand. a tough, venomous spine that lies waters. It has a long body, large eyes, around northern Europe. These small,
It has its eyes set right on top of its behind each gill cover. and two dorsal fins, the first of which silvery fish have long, thin bodies with
has venomous spines. During the day, a pointed jaw and a single long dorsal
the fish lies buried in the sand with fin. Large shoals patrol the waters
just its eyes and fin-tip exposed. just above the seabed, feeding on
A painful wound can result from planktonic crustaceans, tiny fish, and
stepping on the fish in shallow water. worms. If threatened, they dive down
and disappear into the sand. In winter,
they spend most of the time buried.
Sand eels form a very important part
of the diet of larger fish such as cod,
herring, and mackerel, and of sea birds,
especially Atlantic puffins. When sand
eels are scarce, local puffin colonies
produce very few young. In some
areas, overexploitation of sand eels
for processing into fishmeal has been
linked to seabird declines (see p.403).

ORDER PERCIFORMES broad large eye ORDER PERCIFORMES
caudal fin
Tompot Blenny Bignose Unicornfish

Parablennius gattorugine Naso vlamingii
LENGTH LENGTH
Up to 12 in (30 cm) Up to 24 in (60 cm)
WEIGHT WEIGHT
Not recorded Not recorded
DEPTH DEPTH
3–100 ft (1–30 m) 3–165 ft (1–50 m)
DISTRIBUTION Temperate and subtropical DISTRIBUTION Tropical waters of Indian Ocean and
waters of northeastern Atlantic and large pelvic southwestern Pacific
Mediterranean fins
Unicornfish are so called because
With its thick lips, bulging eyes, and many have a hornlike projection on
a pair of tufted head tentacles, the ORDER PERCIFORMES With its yellow and orange body and their forehead. However, the bignose
tompot blenny is a comical-looking distinctive green and blue markings, unicornfish just has a rounded bulbous
fish. Like all blennies, it has a long Mandarinfish the mandarinfish is one of the most snout. At the base of the tail are two
body, a single long dorsal fin, and colorful of all reef fish. Its skin is pairs of fixed, bony plates that stick
peg-like pelvic fins, which it uses to Synchiropus splendidus covered with a distasteful slime and its out sideways like sharp knives, and
prop itself up. Inquisitive by nature, LENGTH bright colors warn predators not to the fish can inflict a serious wound
1
the tompot blenny will peer out at Up to 2 / 2 in (6 cm) touch it. Small groups live inshore on on a potential predator. These blades
approaching divers from the safety WEIGHT silt-covered seabeds among coral and are characteristic of surgeonfish
of a rock crevice. Not recorded rubble. Most members of the dragonet (Acanthuridae), the family to which
DEPTH family (Callionymidae), to which it unicornfish belong.
3–60 ft (1–18 m) belongs, are colored to match their Usually dark with blue streaks, the
DISTRIBUTION Tropical waters of southwestern surroundings. It is a popular aquarium bignose unicornfish can pale instantly
Pacific fish but is very difficult to maintain. to a silvery gray. This often happens
when the fish is being cleaned by a
cleaner wrasse (see p.365). It favors
ORDER PERCIFORMES Shrimp gobies share their sandy steep reef slopes where it can feed on
burrows with snapping shrimp zooplankton in the open water.
Yellow Shrimp Goby belonging to the genus Alpheus.
The shrimp have strong claws and
excavate and maintain the burrow,
Cryptocentrus cinctus
OCEAN LIFE DISTRIBUTION Tropical waters of northeastern Indian The yellow shrimp goby has bulging,
while the gobies have good eyesight
LENGTH
Up to 3 in (8 cm)
and act as a lookout at its entrance.
WEIGHT
Not recorded
high-set eyes, thick lips, and two
dorsal fins. Although the usual
DEPTH
3–50 ft (1–15 m)
coloration is yellow with faint, dusky
bands, it can also be grayish white.
Ocean and southwestern Pacific
This species lives in sandy areas of
shallow lagoons and bays.