oil fish
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Strange fish: oil fish
Found in open waters the oil fish tend to form dense schools that migrate as they follow the movement of their prey.
Found in open waters the oil fish, which is a member of the scorpaeniform order, tend to form dense schools that migrate as they follow the movement of their prey. They have elongated bodies with no scales and when they are alive they are transparent. These fish avoid coast lines, shallow water and bays where they would have to compete with the cottocomephorids that inhabit these areas. The oil fish, which are from the suborder sculpins, bear their young live with each female giving birth to between 2000 and 3000 young. Spawning season for the lesser oil fish is from September to November and for the greater oil fish spawning takes place between April and June. The young oil fish are born in September and October feeding chiefly on cyclopids of the genus Epischura. Adult oil fish feed on larval and juvenile cottocomephorids and their own species. The common name for the oil fish was derived from the high fat content of the meat even though they are considered to have no commercial value.
The oil fish differs from other sculpins by the degeneration of the bony plate that is found beneath their eyes. Of the two dorsal fins the second is much longer than the first and they have no pelvic fins. The pectoral fins on the oil fish are extremely long almost spanning one half of the fishes length. They have a very large head that bears no armor covering but has lateral line grooves. The mouth opening is deep that is accentuated by the elongated body. On the belly side there are no ribs and few bones throughout the body. South of the equator there is a single group of oil fish known as the Normanichthys crockeri. These fish are different in many ways from other sculpins and were once considered a separate family altogether since the entire body is covered with ctenoid scales. They have a slender, elongated body and the head is flat on top but slightly wider than it is in height. There are no spines or teeth on this fish and all the soft rays are branching. Beneath the eyes the bony plate does not extend to the front gill cover and the two small dorsal fins are equal in length, as well as, widely separated. Very few individual specimens of this species have been found even though they are widely distributed along the west coast of South America.
Two species of the oil fish are known to live in the Lake Baikal area. The greater oil fish or Comephorus baicalensis and lesser oil fish or Comephorus dybowskii. Lake Baikal which is located south east of Siberia in the Russian Federation is the deepest lake in the world at a maximum depth of 5,315 feet and is a fresh water lake although due to various tributary rivers is considered an inland sea. These two members of the Comephoridae family are often called Baikal cods with the lesser oil fish found living at depths of more than 3,000 feet while the greater oil fish remains at depths of around 1,000 feet. In this habitat the oil fish will make daily vertical migrations in search of their prey since they have adapted to exploiting the food resources that are present. In this habitat the oil fish feed mainly on some species of benthic copepod crustaceans. These bottom dwelling fish are known to have a spawning season that is much like that of their family that live in oceanic areas. Both the greater oil fish and lesser oil fish that live in fresh waters retain the transparent appearance of others in their family with the bone structure apparent through the skin in most areas.
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Found in open waters the oil fish tend to form dense schools that migrate as they follow the movement of their prey.
Found in open waters the oil fish, which is a member of the scorpaeniform order, tend to form dense schools that migrate as they follow the movement of their prey. They have elongated bodies with no scales and when they are alive they are transparent. These fish avoid coast lines, shallow water and bays where they would have to compete with the cottocomephorids that inhabit these areas. The oil fish, which are from the suborder sculpins, bear their young live with each female giving birth to between 2000 and 3000 young. Spawning season for the lesser oil fish is from September to November and for the greater oil fish spawning takes place between April and June. The young oil fish are born in September and October feeding chiefly on cyclopids of the genus Epischura. Adult oil fish feed on larval and juvenile cottocomephorids and their own species. The common name for the oil fish was derived from the high fat content of the meat even though they are considered to have no commercial value.
The oil fish differs from other sculpins by the degeneration of the bony plate that is found beneath their eyes. Of the two dorsal fins the second is much longer than the first and they have no pelvic fins. The pectoral fins on the oil fish are extremely long almost spanning one half of the fishes length. They have a very large head that bears no armor covering but has lateral line grooves. The mouth opening is deep that is accentuated by the elongated body. On the belly side there are no ribs and few bones throughout the body. South of the equator there is a single group of oil fish known as the Normanichthys crockeri. These fish are different in many ways from other sculpins and were once considered a separate family altogether since the entire body is covered with ctenoid scales. They have a slender, elongated body and the head is flat on top but slightly wider than it is in height. There are no spines or teeth on this fish and all the soft rays are branching. Beneath the eyes the bony plate does not extend to the front gill cover and the two small dorsal fins are equal in length, as well as, widely separated. Very few individual specimens of this species have been found even though they are widely distributed along the west coast of South America.
Two species of the oil fish are known to live in the Lake Baikal area. The greater oil fish or Comephorus baicalensis and lesser oil fish or Comephorus dybowskii. Lake Baikal which is located south east of Siberia in the Russian Federation is the deepest lake in the world at a maximum depth of 5,315 feet and is a fresh water lake although due to various tributary rivers is considered an inland sea. These two members of the Comephoridae family are often called Baikal cods with the lesser oil fish found living at depths of more than 3,000 feet while the greater oil fish remains at depths of around 1,000 feet. In this habitat the oil fish will make daily vertical migrations in search of their prey since they have adapted to exploiting the food resources that are present. In this habitat the oil fish feed mainly on some species of benthic copepod crustaceans. These bottom dwelling fish are known to have a spawning season that is much like that of their family that live in oceanic areas. Both the greater oil fish and lesser oil fish that live in fresh waters retain the transparent appearance of others in their family with the bone structure apparent through the skin in most areas.
or go to
http://momo.essortment.com/strangefish_rwqr.htm