Longtail seamouth (Pegasus volitans)

Scientific name: Pegasus volitans Linnaeus, 1758

Longtail seamouth (Pegasus volitans)

The Longtail seamouth (Pegasus volitans) is a brackish-water fish of the family Pegasidae.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 5; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 5; Vertebrae: 21. Body light brown or olive to dark brown-black dorsally and laterally, lighter ventrally. Tubercles absent on surface of carapace; no scales on orbit; distal margin of dorsal and anal fins perpendicular to horizontal axis of body. 4 pairs of dorsolateral body plates; 5 pairs of ventrolateral body plates; tail rings 12, anteriormost 9 mobile, last 3 fused; a lateral pair of posteriorly directed spines on terminal tail rings; suborbital shelf convex obscuring eye from ventral view; deep pits absent. Rostrum monomorphic and spatulate.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Pegasus volitans
Family
Pegasidae (Seamoths)
Order
Gasterosteiformes (Sticklebacks and Seamoths)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
18.0
Depth range
1–73 m (3–240 ft)
Environment
Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range 1 - 73 m, usually 9 - 27 m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: Delagoa Bay, Mozambique to Saudi Arabia (Persian Gulf) and throughout Gulf of Manaar to Bay of Bengal; along the east coast of Myanmar; north to Japan, south to tropical Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Data deficient (DD)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: of no interest

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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