Teleostei (teleosts) >
Carangaria/misc (Various families in series Carangaria) >
Polynemidae (Threadfins)
Etymology: Pentanemus: Greek, pente = five + Greek, nema = filament (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range 10 - 70 m (Ref. 10799). Tropical; 21°N - 18°S, 27°W - 14°E (Ref. 57343)
Eastern Atlantic: Senegal to Angola (Ref. 57402). Also reported from Mauritania (Ref. 10799) and Cape Verde (Ref. 27000). Reported from Cuba based on a single specimen; no other specimens taken from the western Atlantic (Ref. 57343).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 15.0 range ? - 17 cm
Max length : 35.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 57402); common length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3659)
Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14 - 18; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 28 - 30. Diagnosis: detached pectoral filaments very long, exceeding body length; base of anal fin much longer than base of 2nd dorsal fin; body moderately elongate and compressed, its height comprised 3.0-3.4 in standard length; snout very short, blunt and prominent; mouth inferior; maxillary bone strongly widened at its end, reaching largely past eye; 2 widely separated dorsal fins, 1st with 8 flexible spines, 2nd with 1 spine and 14-18 soft rays; anal fin base much longer than 2nd dorsal fin base; pectoral fin inserted very low on body; threadlike filaments, 5 in number, 4 of them longer than total length of fish; scales ctenoid; head scaly (Ref. 57402).
Coloration: body uniformly silvery, greyish on back, shading to whitish ventrally; fins tinged with yellow (Ref. 57402).
Occurs over sandy (Ref. 2683) and muddy bottoms in shallow waters (Ref. 57343), frequently in brackish waters (Ref. 57343, 57402) and estuaries (Ref. 57402). Carnivorous (Ref. 57402), feeds on fish and shrimps (Ref. 28587).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Motomura, H., 2004. Threadfins of the world (Family Polynemidae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of polynemid species known to date. FAO Spec. Cat. Fish. Purp. Rome: FAO. 3:117 p. (Ref. 57343)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: highly commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 20.2 - 27.9, mean 25.8 °C (based on 70 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00398 (0.00236 - 0.00672), b=3.13 (2.99 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.6 ±0.57 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.72).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (31 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref.
125649): High to very high vulnerability (75 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 194 [95, 369] mg/100g; Iron = 1.34 [0.67, 2.39] mg/100g; Protein = 19.5 [18.0, 21.1] %; Omega3 = 0.274 [0.169, 0.428] g/100g; Selenium = 64.3 [33.4, 126.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 11.4 [5.1, 25.3] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.44 [1.00, 2.11] mg/100g (wet weight);
