Name: Longspine spinefish, common bellowfish, slender snipefish
Scientific Name: Macroramphosus scolopax (Linnaeus, 1758)
Family: Centriscidae
Group: Bony fish
Class: Fish
Size: 11-25 cm.
Longspine spinefishes are coastal fish, well distributed in temperate waters throughout almost all the world, including Portugal. As juveniles, they live in the water column and feed on small planktonic animals. During this phase they are a silvery colour and become less visible to the eyes of predators. As adults, they turn pink and live near the bottom, where they feed on small invertebrates. Like their other close relatives, seahorses and shrimpfish, they swallow their prey whole. They also have an interesting way of swimming: vertically with their head down!
Photo by:
Manuel Gonzalez (pagesperso-orange.fr)
Azores
