Longspine snipefish
species of fish
The longspine snipefish (Macroramphosus scolopax), is a snipefish of the genus Macroramphosus, also known by various names such as bellowfish, common bellowsfish, snipe-fish, snipefish, spine trumpet fish, or trumpetfish. It is also known as the slender snipefish particularly off the South African coast.
Its distinct features, including its long, pointed snout and protruding dorsal spine, make it easily recognizable.
Description
Longspine snipefish are reddish pink dorsally but have silvery bellies. They have a large eye, long snouts, and a slender spine protruding dorsally. Longspine snipefish range from 4.8 to 16.0 cm (1.9 to 6.3 in), with measurements including head length, fin lengths, and snout features. Males range from 9.1 cm to 13.8 cm, with a mean of 11.74 cm, while females are slightly larger, ranging from 9.7 cm to 16.0 cm, with a mean of 13.12±1.743 cm.
A prominent feature of the longspine snipefish is their second spine in the first dorsal fin, which ranges from 21.92 mm to 36.47 mm. Males exhibit a slightly shorter postocular head length compared to females.
Longspine snipefish exhibit wide morphological variation.
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This entry incorporates text from “Longspine snipefish” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.