Macroramphosus, snipefishes or bellowfishes, is a genus of fishes found in tropical and subtropical oceans at depths down to 600 metres (2,000 ft). According to FishBase, they are part of the family Centriscidae, but Nelson (2016) split that family, in which case the genus Macroramphosus is in the family Macroramphosidae.[1] They have long second spines on their dorsal fins and tiny mouths at the tip of their greatly elongated snouts. The bodies of snipefish are more streamlined than in the related bellowfishes. They reach a maximum length of about 20 cm (7.9 in), and are silvery or reddish in colour. They are sometimes found in large schools. This is the only genus on the monogeneric family Macroranphosidae[1] but some authorities include the genera Centriscops and Notopogon in this family too.[2]
| Macroramphosus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Macroramphosus gracilis | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Syngnathiformes |
| Suborder: | Aulostomoidei |
| Superfamily: | Centriscoidea |
| Family: | Macroramphosidae |
| Genus: | Macroramphosus Lacepède, 1803 |
| Type species | |
| Silurus cornutus Forsskål, 1775
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| Species | |
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See text | |
Species
editCurrently, two recognized species are placed in this genus:[3]
- Macroramphosus gracilis (R. T. Lowe, 1839) (slender snipefish)
- Macroramphosus scolopax (Linnaeus, 1758) (longspine snipefish)
References
edit- ^ a b Nelson, JS; Grande, TC & Wilson, MVH (2016). "Classification of fishes from Fishes of the World 5th Edition" (PDF). Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ^ "Bellowfishes, MACRORAMPHOSIDAE". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Macroramphosus". FishBase. October 2012 version.
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