Teleostei (teleosts) >
Dactylopteriformes (Flying gurnards) >
Pegasidae (Seamoths)
Etymology: Pegasus: Taken form the winged horse of Perseus in the ancient Greek, mithology (Ref. 45335); laternarius: From the Latin word 'later' meaning made of bricks.
More on author: Cuvier.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal; depth range 30 - 100 m (Ref. 48635). Tropical; 35°N - 11°S, 77°E - 139°E
Indo-West Pacific: Gulf of Manaar, Indian Ocean to the Western Pacific (Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea, along the coast of southern China and Taiwan, extending as far north as Suruga Bay, Japan).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 8.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1418)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 5; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 5; Vertebrae: 20. It has a variety of colors and can be dull to bright yellow or blue (Ref. 48635). Preserved body dark brown dorsally and laterally; lighter ventrally. Species with 4 pairs of dorsolateral body plates; 5 pairs ventrolateral body plates; deep pits on dorsal surface of head and within interorbital depression absent; 11 or more tail rings with 9th and 10th fused; suborbital shelf convex, obscuring eye from ventral view; last tail ring without spine on dorsal surface. 5th rays of pectorals stout, much thicker than other rays. No scales on orbit. Distal margin of dorsal and anal fins oblique to horizontal axis of body. Readily identified by its rather short rostrum when juvenile or female; it is more developed in males (Ref. 48635).
Adults lives on muddy bottoms, often collected at depths of about 50 m; larvae are planktonic. Rarely seen diving, except a few localities in Japan where they occur in sheltered muddy habitats (Ref. 48635).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Palsson, W.A. and T.W. Pietsch, 1989. Revision of the Acanthopterygian fish Family Pegasidae (Order Gasterosteiformes). Indo-Pac. Fish. (18):38 p. (Ref. 1418)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of potential interest
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 23.4 - 28.4, mean 27.4 °C (based on 329 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5781 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.3 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
