Kevin Bryant, USA
Info
The Atlantic Moonfish has a hatchet-shaped body and an elongated, flat-looking high forehead.
It is a schooling species, usually found near the bottom of inland waters.
Juvenile fish occur near the surface, up to 180 km offshore, but they are also found in bays and estuaries.
Sexual maturity is reached at a fork length of about 13 cm.The Atlantic Moonfish feeds on small fish and crustaceans.
The body and head are silvery, sometimes with a metallic blue tinge that is more pronounced on the upper body, head, and snout.
A faint dark spot can be seen on the edge of the operculum near the top, as well as a narrow black area on the top of the caudal peduncle.
Fins of animals are clear or hyaline, with a dark or olive yellow tinge on the second dorsal and caudal fin lobes, in some. Juveniles generally silvery with an oval black spot over the straight part of the lateral line, which persists to a fork length of 9 cm in some individuals, but disappears at 7 cm in others.
Overall, research on the species appears to be insufficient, as the literature assigns widely divergent information:
Size information varies for adults between 30cm and 60cm!
Water depth for the species varies between 50 meters and 120 meters!
Reports of ciguatera poisoning!
Synonyms:
Vomer setapinnis (Mitchill, 1815)
Zeus setapinnis Mitchill, 1815
It is a schooling species, usually found near the bottom of inland waters.
Juvenile fish occur near the surface, up to 180 km offshore, but they are also found in bays and estuaries.
Sexual maturity is reached at a fork length of about 13 cm.The Atlantic Moonfish feeds on small fish and crustaceans.
The body and head are silvery, sometimes with a metallic blue tinge that is more pronounced on the upper body, head, and snout.
A faint dark spot can be seen on the edge of the operculum near the top, as well as a narrow black area on the top of the caudal peduncle.
Fins of animals are clear or hyaline, with a dark or olive yellow tinge on the second dorsal and caudal fin lobes, in some. Juveniles generally silvery with an oval black spot over the straight part of the lateral line, which persists to a fork length of 9 cm in some individuals, but disappears at 7 cm in others.
Overall, research on the species appears to be insufficient, as the literature assigns widely divergent information:
Size information varies for adults between 30cm and 60cm!
Water depth for the species varies between 50 meters and 120 meters!
Reports of ciguatera poisoning!
Synonyms:
Vomer setapinnis (Mitchill, 1815)
Zeus setapinnis Mitchill, 1815
