Caristius fasciatus, the Greenland manefish, is a species of fish.[2]
Description
This large-eyed round fish is compressed in cross section. It is a pale blue-grey in colour with a few irregular darker bars and a dark, sail-like dorsal fin. The anal fins, like the dorsal fin, are dark, while the caudal and pectoral fins are small and translucent.[3] Their dorsal, pectoral and anal fins have no spines and are made up of only soft rays (31-34, 16-18 and 18-21 rays respectively). The longest recorded individual was 30 cm (12 in) long.[4]
Similar species
The Greenland manefish has fewer and larger teeth and fewer vertebrae than Caristius macropus and Caristius meridionalis. It differs from Caristius digitus through the lack of a series of fingerlike papillae inside the opercle (the Greenland manefish has at most one), the short conical pharyngeal teeth (they are elongated in C. digitus), and fewer gill rakers.[5]
Distribution and habitat
This species is found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. It is known from the oceans around Argentina, Canada, Greenland, Namibia and South Africa.[4] This species is found in the bethypelagic zone at depths of 100–420 m (330–1,380 ft).[6] This species may, however, also rarely be found closer to the coast. In South Africa, for example, it was photographed at a depth of 15 m (49 ft) off Oudekraal.[3]
Ecology
While the diet of these species has not been examined in any detail, it is known to eat pelagic crustaceans, such as plankton.[7] From the capture of females and juveniles, it is believed that spawning occurs on the edges of sub-tropical waters, such as the Sargasso Sea, around the Gulf Stream and off the Azores.[8]
^Britz, R. and K.E. Hartel, 2012. On the synonymy of Caristius groenlandicus Jensen and Pteraclis fasciatus Borodin (Pisces: Caristiidae). Zootaxa 3546:85-88.
^Stevenson, D.E. and C.P. Kenaley, 2013. Revision of the manefish genera Caristius and Platyberyx (Teleostei: Percomorpha: Caristiidae), with description of five new species. Copeia 2013(3):415-434
^Macpherson, E., 1989. Influence of geographical distribution, body size and diet on population density of benthic fishes off Namibia (South West Africa). Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 50:295-299.
^Kukuev, E.I., N.V. Parin and I.A. Trunov, 2013. Materials for the revision of the family Caristiidae (Perciformes): 3. Manefishes (genus Caristius) from moderate warm waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans with a description of three new species from the southeast Atlantic (C. barsukovi sp. n., C. litvinovi sp. n., C. walvisensis sp. n.). J. Ichthyol. 53(8):541-561.
