Brotula barbata (NOAA's Fisheries Collection , SEFSC Pascagoula Laboratory; Collection of Brandi Noble, NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC)
Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis/Classis: Actinopterygii
Classis/Subclassis: Actinopteri
Subclassis/Infraclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Megacohors: Osteoglossocephalai
Supercohors: Clupeocephala
Cohors: Euteleosteomorpha
Subcohors: Neoteleostei
Infracohors: Eurypterygia
Sectio: Ctenosquamata
Subsectio: Acanthomorphata
Divisio/Superordo: Acanthopterygii
Subdivisio: Percomorphaceae
Series: Ophidiaria
Ordo: Ophidiiformes
Familia: Ophidiidae
Subfamilia: Brotulinae
Genus: Brotula
Species: B. barbata
Brotula barbata, commonly known as the bearded brotula, Atlantic bearded brotula, or sugarfish, is a species of cusk-eel in the genus Brotula. It lives in the Atlantic Ocean, in depths of up to 300 meters. Its coloring ranges from olive-brown to red-brown, and it grows up to be around 50 centimeters. It has a carnivorous diet, and it is oviparous.
Description
A large specimen, 62.8 cm long
Brotula barbata most commonly grows up to 50 centimeters long, but has been known to grow up to nearly 100 cm. The highest published weight of a specimen was 8.5 kilograms.[2] The front of its body is somewhat deep, tapering to its rear. Its scales are smooth and relatively small, and cover its entire body. It contains 12 barbels: six on its snout and six on its chin. It has a pointed caudal fin (tail fin).[3]
Brotula barbata will sometimes have spots or freckles. It usually is brownish in color overall, with some individuals being closer to olive and others closer to red.[4]
Ecology and biology
Brotula barbata is carnivorous. It mostly feeds on bony fishes and crustaceans that live in shallow waters, including crabs and shrimp.[4] It exhibits oviparity, and lays a large amount of eggs at a time, which are gelatin-like in consistency. The species's larvae are pelagic.[1]
Brotula barbata is exclusive to marine environments. It can live up to a depth of 650 meters, but it most commonly occurs in depths from 50 – 300 m. Adults are benthopelagic, mostly inhabiting the sandy and muddy ocean floor.[3] Juveniles usually inhabit shallow coral reefs instead.[4]
Distribution and conservation
Brotula barbata lives in various areas of the Atlantic Ocean, in tropical and sub-tropical climates.[5] Specifically, it occurs on the east coast of North and South America, from North Carolina down to Brazil, as well as on the west coast of Africa, from Mauritania to Angola. It is a common species throughout its range. Although it is sometimes a bycatch in fisheries, there are no major threats to the species, and it is therefore listed as "Least Concern" by IUCN.[1]
References
Robins, R.H. 2015 (2015). "Brotula barbata". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T16427324A16510297. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T16427324A16510297.en.
Froese, R.; Pauly, D. "Brotula barbata (Block & Schneider, 1801)". WoRMS. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
Froese, Rainer. "Brotula barbata, Bearded brotula". FishBase. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
"Species: Brotula barbata, Atlantic bearded brotula, Bearded brotula". Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
"Brotula barbata (Bearded brotula)". Ichthyolith Taxonomy Database. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
