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Relationship between second dorsal fin spine length and distance between origins of second dorsal fin spine and second dorsal fin in Macroramphosus gracilis (solid circles) and M. scolopax (open squares)
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Earlier opinions that Macroramphosus is monotypic are refuted, with two species apparently occurring in Japan (tentatively identified as M. gracilis and M. scolopax). In postsettlement young and adults, the former is characterized by a dark slender body (vs. red-orange and deep) and short second dorsal fin spine with a smooth posterior margin (vs....
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... (1937). A key to "Japanese" species of Macroramphosus is provided below. Although body propor- tions alone provided weak evidence for species identifica- tion, reasonable separation was obtained from the measure- ment of second dorsal fin spine relative to the distance between the origins of the second dorsal fin spine and sec- ond dorsal fin (Fig. 7). Key to Japanese species of Macroramphosus 1a. Ventral body profile straight in larvae and juveniles ( Fig. 2A). Body entirely dark in young and dark or brownish dorsally in adults (Fig. 1A); posterior margin of second dorsal fin spine smooth in specimens larger than 50 mm SL (Fig. 4B); second dorsal fin spine rela- tively short, ...
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... Macroramphosus spp. have a higher caloric content than common ABFT prey such as Atlantic saury Scomberesox saurus or blue jack mackerel Trachurus picturatus (Martins et al. 2004), and occur at high densities in shallow waters during daytime (Miyazaki et al. 2004), representing an im portant energetic resource for predators. ...
The Canary archipelago, which is part of the Atlantic biogeographical region of the Macaronesia, provides an appropriate habitat for tropical and temperate-water large pelagics. Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT, Thunnus thynnus) occur all year round in the Canary Islands. Life history traits of ABFT, specifically foraging patterns, have not been studied thus far in this region. We investigated the ABFT trophic biology, combining stomach content and stable isotope analyses. A high proportion (~77%) of the stomachs contained prey, denoting active foraging. The diet primarily consisted of fishes, among which the snipefish, Macroramphosus sp., was the major prey. Cephalopods and crustaceans were less important diet components. Besides natural prey, a well-preserved specimen of Cory's shearwater, Calonectris borealis, was found in one stomach sampled in 2018. Moreover, 16.7% of the stomachs contained plastic debris. Inter-annual isotopic differences were detected in liver tissue samples (PERMANOVA, p < 0.05), reflecting dietary shift in 2018, where δ15N values were lower than in 2016 and 2017. Isotopic niche width estimations from stable isotope Bayesian ellipse in R (SIBER) and kernel utilization density (KUD) suggest a more diverse diet in 2017. Standard ellipse corrected area (SEAC) and Bayesian standard ellipse area (SEAB) values from muscle and liver data indicate that the diet of ABFT in the Canary Islands is more euryphagous than in the Strait of Gibraltar (East Atlantic) but more stenophagous than it is in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (West Atlantic). The present results indicate that the Canary archipelago represents a forging ground for ABFT in spring.
... gracilis-type), which has a dark or brownish slender body and shorter second dorsal fin spines with smooth posterior margins. These morphotypes are frequently distributed sympatrically in the Atlantic and northwestern Pacific oceans (Ehrich & John 1973;Matthiessen et al. 2003;Miyazaki et al. 2004). Although their feeding habitats are unknown, the two morphotypes have been reported from the Mediterranean Sea (Bilecenoglu 2006). ...
... Although their feeding habitats are unknown, the two morphotypes have been reported from the Mediterranean Sea (Bilecenoglu 2006). The taxonomic status of these two morphotypes has been debated for a long time (Okada & Suzuki 1951;Ehrich & John 1973;Ehrich 1976;Miyazaki et al. 2004;Bilecenoglu 2006;Robalo et al. 2009). Clarke (1984) also reported that both plankton-and benthosfeeding individuals in southeast Australian waters showed the M. scolopax-type morphology, although other significant morphological differences were shown between them. ...
... It seems reasonable to think that Macroramphosus snipefish have deviated in different sea areas and they can be discriminated from each other by morphological and/or molecular characteristics. As morphological deviation corresponding to feeding habitats were reported in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans (Ehrich & John 1973;Clarke 1984;Matthiessen et al. 2003;Miyazaki et al. 2004), trophic polymorphism might have evolved in a common ancestor of Macroramphosus snipefish and been maintained in deviated lineages. If so, such long-term persistence of trophic polymorphism, which is thought to be an intermediate step in speciation (Smith & Skúlason 1996), is a very interesting phenomenon. ...
A non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (nMDS) analysis based on 10 quantitative morphological characteristics showed significant morphological differences among snipefishes of the genus Macroramphosus from the northwestern Pacific including the East China Sea and the southern Pacific, northern Atlantic, and southern Atlantic oceans. Individuals of theses four sea areas were significantly different from each other for at least one characteristic. Considering these results along with those of previous molecular analyses, Macroramphosus is suggested to have speciated or genetically diverged among sea areas.
... Most of the available information on the two species comes from studies, conducted in the Atlantic area, on their distribution and abundance (Marques et al. 2005), biometric and genetic characters (Zorica & Vrgoc 2005;Robalo et al. 2009), and ecological significance and impact (Lopes et al. 2006). The biology, growth, sexual cycle and reproduction of snipefish and boarfish have been the subject of several studies in different areas of the world (Brethes 1979;Borges 2000Borges , 2001White et al. 2011 for the Atlantic Ocean; Assis 1993 for the Mediterranean Sea ;Clarke 1984;Miyazaki et al. 2004 for the Western Pacific Ocean). ...
The feeding behaviour of two potentially competing species, the longspine snipefish, Macroramphosus scolopax, and the boarfish Capros aper was examined. While both species are very abundant along the Mediterranean coast and are regularly caught by demersal trawlers, they are of no commercial value. The diets of boarfish and longspine snipefish were investigated from samples collected between January 2001 and May 2002. Variations in the diet with fish size and season, as well as diet overlap and diversity were explored. Mysid shrimps, amphipods and gastropods were the most important food items in the diet of longspine snipefish. During ontogenetic development, M. scolopax occupies different trophic levels: the diet shifts from being predominantly composed of mysids (Anchialina agilis, Lophogaster typicus, Erythrops sp., Leptomysis spp.) in the smaller longspine snipefish [<6.5 cm total length (TL)] towards decapods (Anapagurus laevis) and amphipods (Leucothoe incisa, Eusirus longipes, Hyperidea) in the larger individuals (>6.5 cm TL). Crustacean decapods and copepods were the most important prey in the stomachs of boarfish. Mysids (Lo. typicus), euphausiids and nematodes were present in the larger individuals (>8 cm TL). A more generalist diet, still containing copepods, crustacean decapods, gastropods (Limacina retroversa) and a large variety of amphipods (e.g. Phtysica marina, Stenotoe bosphorana) and mysids (e.g. A. agilis, Leptomysis spp., Erythrops sp.), dominated the diet of C. aper between 2 and 8 cm TL. Diet overlap between longspine snipefish and boarfish was very low and the differences in stomach species diversity were explained by season and fish size.
... Ehrich (1976) arrived at the same conclusion based on the existence of individuals with intermediate morphologies in the northeastern Atlantic and thought that M. gracilis-type individuals were juveniles of M. scolopax. However, Miyazaki et al. (2004) showed that they can be differentiated even at the larval stage based on specimens collected off Kochi in southern Japan. Presently, most researchers consider M. scolopax and M. gracilis as valid species (Bilecenoglu 2006). ...
... The specimens were classified based on the qualitative characters described by Miyazaki et al. (2004): M. scolopax-type having red-orange bodies and second dorsal fin spines with roughly serrated posterior margins, M. gracilistype having dark or brownish bodies and second dorsal fin spines with smooth posterior margins, and intermediatetype individuals. A small piece of muscle tissue taken from each specimen was stored in a freezer (-30°C) until use. ...
... Based on the qualitative characters shown in Miyazaki et al. (2004), the specimens of Macroramphosus collected in the East China Sea were classified into M. scolopax-type (n = 78), M. gracilis-type (n = 42), and intermediate-type (n = 6) individuals. Specimens collected off northeastern Japan (n = 2) were classified as M. scolopax-type and those off Kochi were classified as M. scolopax-type (n = 9), M. gracilis-type (n = 1), and intermediate-type (n = 6) individuals. ...
We examined morphological and molecular characteristics of individuals of Macroramphosus in Japanese waters (the East China Sea and the northwestern Pacific). Two morphotypes (M. scolopax-type and M. gracilis-type) that were differentiated based on 10 quantitative morphological characters were not supported by molecular analyses using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA markers, while a genetic deviation was observed between populations of Macroramphosus from the northwestern Pacific and the northeastern Atlantic. Macroramphosus
scolopax-type and M. gracilis-type individuals are thought to be intraspecific morphotypes adapted to plankton and benthos feeding, respectively.
... In contrast, several recent studies (e.g. Matthiessen et al. 2003; Miyazaki et al. 2004; Marques et al. 2005; Bilecenoglu 2006) consider both species valid and found substantial diVerences between them in morphology, larval development , behaviour and feeding habitats. All these studies were based on the analysis of sympatric forms, thus allowing the exclusion of possible artefacts caused by comparisons of geographically distinct populations. ...
Fish belonging to the genus Macroramphosus are distributed throughout the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Some authors consider this genus monotypic, Macroramphosus scolopax being the only valid species. Other authors consider (based on several morphological and ecological characters) that another
species (Macroramphosus gracilis) exists and occurs frequently in sympatry with the first one. Intermediate forms are also reported in literature. In this
paper, using the mitochondrial control region and the nuclear first S7 intron markers, we failed to find genetic differences
between individuals considered to belong to both species as well as the intermediate forms. Our results suggest that in the
northeastern Atlantic, Macroramphosus is represented by a single species, M. scolopax, with different morphotypes interbreeding in the sampling areas.
... Macroramphosidae *Macroramphosus gracilis (Lowe, 1839)—Slender snipefish Recorded from Madeira by Ehrich in Whitehead et al. (1986: 627) under the name Macroramphosus scolopax (non Linnaeus, 1758). Taxonomic decision of Matthiesen et al. (2003: 63); Miyazaki et al. (2004: 256). Wirtz (1998) , the occurrence of another seahorse species at Madeira could not be verified. ...
A check-list of the coastal fishes of Madeira Island is presented. The species Rhincodon typus, Megalops atlanticus, Apterichtus caecus, Apterichtus sp., Chelidonichthys lucernus, Caranx crysos, Lutjanus goreensis, Crystallogobius linearis, and Canthidermis sufflamen are recorded for the first time from Madeira waters. We have recognized 13 previous records as identification errors or registration errors and indicate 14 other records as doubtful. Including the nine new records, we list 226 species from the coastal waters of Madeira Island.
... The typological species concept uses the degree of morphological differences as a criterion to separate species, as it is the case with the genus Macroramphosus. However, this concept has been rejected (Mayr and Ashlock 1991) in favour of the biological species concept which holds that two groups of individuals are separate species when they are reproductively isolated (Mayr and Ashlock 1991).7 Plot of MDS analysis of Procrustean distances of snipefish (s M. scolopax, g M. gracilis, i individuals with intermediate characteristics) and boarfish morphotypes(s slender type, d deeper type, i intermediate type)Fig. 8 Distribution of the sampled snipefish species (s M. scolopax, g M. gracilis, i individuals with intermediate characteristics) and boarfish morphotypes (s slender type, d deeper type, i intermediate type) in the space defined by the discriminant variables The existence of individuals with intermediate morphological characters among both snipefish and boarfish raises some doubt that there is reproductive isolation. ...
The existence of two species of the genus Macroramphosus Lacepède 1803, has been discussed based on morphometric characters, diet composition and depth distribution. Another species,
the boarfish Capros aper (Linnaeus 1758), caugth along the Portuguese coast, shows two different morphotypes, one type with smaller eyes and a deeper
body than the other, occurring with intermediate forms. In both snipefish and boarfish no sexual dimorphism was found with
respect to shape and length relationships. However, females in both genera were on average bigger than males. A multidimensional
scaling analysis was performed using Procrustes distances, in order to check if shape geometry was effective in distinguishing
the species of snipefish as well as the morphotypes of boarfish. A multivariate discriminant analysis using morphometric characters
of snipefish and boarfish was carried out to validate the visual criteria for a distinction of species and morphotypes, respectively.
Morphometric characters revealed a great discriminatory power to distinguish morphotypes. Both snipefish and boarfish are
very abundant in Portuguese waters, showing two well-defined morphologies and intermediate forms. This study suggests that
there may be two different species in each genus and that further studies on these fish should be carried out to investigate
if there is reproductive isolation between the morphotypes of boarfish and to validate the species of snipefish.
... Reproduction takes place during January and February (EHRICH & JOHN, 1973). Several authors described the biometric characters and biology of snipefish from different localities: MORH (1937), EHRICH & JOHN (1976), BRÊTHES (1979) and BORGES (2000BORGES ( , 2001 for the Atlantic Ocean, ASSIS (1993) for the Mediterranean Sea, and CLARKE (1984) and MIYAZAKI et al. (2004) for the western Pacific Ocean. ...
Specimens of the snipefish, Macroramphosus scolopax (Linnaeus, 1758), from the middle and southern Adriatic were biometrically analyzed during the demersal communities research project, MEDITS. The specimens (n = 103) were caught at depths deeper than 100 m. Total length ranged 4.8-16.0 cm, with a mean of 9.45±2.796 cm. According to the length-weight relationship, positive allometric growth was established (b = 3.23).
Two sympatric species, M. scolopax (Linnaeus) and M. gracilis (Lowe), were examined based on samplings carried out at the eastern Mediterranean Sea (Turkey). The latter species has frequently been considered a synonym of M. scolopax; however, it is distinct by the following combination of characters: first dorsal fin originating before anus, second spine of first dorsal not extending beyond second dorsal fin base, length between two dorsal fins greater than the eye diameter, ventral scutes not protruding, and projecting scute between pelvic and anal fins less developed.
Benthopelagic fishes were sampled during three cruises to Seine Seamount, NE Atlantic, using bottom trawls and an epibenthic sledge. A total of 16 fish species were caught on the summit plateau of the seamount at 160–180 m depth, belonging to 15 different families. Four species were common to all types of trawls, whereas the other species were found only in part of the catches. Most fish caught were small species and typical for shelf and seamount communities. The most abundant fish was the snipefish, Macroramphosus spp., which was important also in terms of biomass. The population structure (size classes and length/weight relationships) of the five most abundant species (Macroramphosus spp., Capros aper, Anthias anthias, Callanthias ruber and Centracanthus cirrus) shows that usually two or three size classes, probably representing age groups (year classes), were present, and that growth rates were high. A stomach content analysis of these fishes revealed a predominance of pelagic prey, mainly small copepods. No indications for a seamount effect in terms of enhanced biomass or topographic blockage were found.
