Animalia Life
Histiodraco velifer
FAMILY
Artedidraconidae
TAXONOMY
Dolloidraco velifer Regan, 1914, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
None known.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Attains a length of up to 7.5 in (19.2 cm) (length/depth ratio,
5:1). It has a large, depressed head with a conspicuous barbel
on the chin; this barbel is one of the characteristic features of
the
FAMILY
. The first dorsal fin is tall and narrow, consisting of
only three flexible spines, and is directly above the operculum.
The second dorsal fin is disproportionately tall and sail-like.
The second dorsal, caudal, pectoral, and pelvic fins have brown
and yellow striations. The body color is a light tan, with irregular
dark blotches. Scales are absent, except for parts of the
two lateral lines on the trunk.
DISTRIBUTION
Coastal waters of Antarctica, from the Weddell Sea clockwise
to the Ross Sea.
HABITAT
This is a bottom-dwelling fish, found at depths of 48–2,190 ft
(15–667 m). It is taken occasionally by scuba divers on the mud
or gravel bottoms in McMurdo Sound and Terra Nova Bay.
BEHAVIOR
In the aquarium, the sailfin plunderfish sits quietly on the bottom.
The barbel is extended and occasionally twitched, mimicking
a small worm. Histological examination shows that the
barbel is highly innervated, with many tiny capsules resembling
Pacinian corpuscles (a comomn type of pressure-sensitive sense
organ amongst the vertebrates). Touching the barbel with forceps
elicits a feeding lunge. This
BEHAVIOR
implies that natural
feeding may target mobile foragers, such as fish and amphipods.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Very little is known about the diet of the sailfin plunderfish,
other than what can be inferred from
BEHAVIOR
al observations
in the aquarium. Where they have been examined, gut contents
include krill and polychaete worms. Like most of the
benthic notothenioids, it is probably an opportunistic feeder.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Nothing is known of the
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
, as very few
specimens have been collected.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Although this is an uncommon species, poorly represented in
museum collections, it is not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
Photo Gallery of - Sailfin plunderfish
