Bellowfish
Encyclopedia
The bellowfishes or bellowsfishes (genus Notopogon) are fish
es found in deeper parts of the temperate southern oceans, although the longspine bellowfish has been recorded as far north as New Caledonia
and Madagascar
. According to FishBase
, they are part of the family Centriscidae
, but some authorities split that family, in which case the genus Notopogon is in the family Macroramphosidae. They have a long second spine on the dorsal fin
and a tiny mouth at the tip of a greatly elongated snout. The body is relatively high (giving them a somewhat hunchback
ed appearance) unlike the related snipefish
es. They reach a maximum length of approximately 34 centimetres (13.4 in), and are silvery or reddish in colour.
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
es found in deeper parts of the temperate southern oceans, although the longspine bellowfish has been recorded as far north as New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
and Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
. According to FishBase
FishBase
FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish species . It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web...
, they are part of the family Centriscidae
Centriscidae
Centriscidae is the family of snipefishes, shrimpfishes, and bellowfishes. A small family, consisting of only about a dozen marine species, they are of an unusual appearance, as reflected by the common names...
, but some authorities split that family, in which case the genus Notopogon is in the family Macroramphosidae. They have a long second spine on the dorsal fin
Dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...
and a tiny mouth at the tip of a greatly elongated snout. The body is relatively high (giving them a somewhat hunchback
Hunchback
Hunchback may refer to one of the following.*A derogatory term for a person who has severe kyphosis*The Hunchback of Notre Dame*Hunchback , an arcade and computer game from the 1980s*The Hunchback, a 1914 film featuring Lillian Gish...
ed appearance) unlike the related snipefish
Snipefish
The snipefishes are two species of fishes found in tropical and subtropical oceans at depth down to . According to FishBase, they are part of the family Centriscidae, but some authorities split that family, in which case the genus Macroramphosus is in the family Macroramphosidae...
es. They reach a maximum length of approximately 34 centimetres (13.4 in), and are silvery or reddish in colour.
Species
- Notopogon armatus (Sauvage, 1879).
- Notopogon endeavouri Mohr, 1937.
- Orange bellowsfishOrange bellowsfishThe orange bellowsfish, Notopogon fernandezianus, is a species of fish of the family Centriscidae, found in all southern oceans, at depths of . Its length is up to .-References:...
, Notopogon fernandezianus (Delfin, 1899). - Crested bellowfishCrested bellowfishThe crested bellowfish, Notopogon lilliei, is a species of fish from the family Centriscidae, found in the south west Pacific, western Indian, and south east Atlantic Oceans at depths of...
, Notopogon lilliei Regan, 1914. - Longsnout bellowfish, Notopogon macrosolen Barnard, 1925.
- Longspine bellowfish, Notopogon xenosoma Regan, 1914.