Exocoetidae
Japanese flyingfish
Cheilopogon agoo
FISH SPECIES
Saltwater Fish
Saltwater tells you where a fish may live, but it says little about the space it actually uses. A sheltered estuary, a shallow coral reef, the open water above a continental shelf and the deep seafloor differ in light, movement, food and shelter. NOAA describes essential fish habitat in terms of the places needed for feeding, growth and reproduction. Those functions are more useful than treating all marine records as one ecological category.
FISH ATLAS / FIELD GUIDESaltwater FishIN THIS CHAPTER01 / Characteristics02 / Lifestyle03 / Species04 / Field notes
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01 / NATURAL HISTORY
Characteristics
Pelagic means living in the water column; benthic refers to a relationship with the bottom. These are positions, not family names. A fish may forage above the bottom and rest beside it, while another crosses open water far from shore. The depth and substrate reported by an observer therefore matter more than a simple sea icon. Current, suspended food and hiding places also change across a coast or shelf.
- 01Osmoregulation in saline waters
- 02Hydrodynamic & camouflaged forms
- 03Complex marine trophic partitioning
02 / LIFESTYLE
Lifestyle
Body shape can suggest a way of moving, but it does not identify a fish or prove its ecology. A streamlined body may help sustained swimming; a compressed shape can make maneuvering around structures easier. Similar forms also appear in unrelated lineages. Compare the head, fins and tail together, and check a regional identification source before assigning a scientific name. An illustration is useful for orientation but is not independent evidence of an observation.
OBSERVATION INDEX
- Follow a life history through connected waters
- Handle salinity and conservation precisely
- Make one careful comparison from the atlas
03 / SPECIES
Representative species
Discover representative species illustrating the ecological diversity, morphologies and adaptations of this group.
Japanese flyingfish
Callionymidae
Japanese fold dragonet
Diplogrammus xenicus
Albulidae
Japanese gissu
Pterothrissus gissu
Dorosomatidae
Japanese gizzard shad
Nematalosa japonica
Mullidae
Japanese goatfish
Upeneus japonicus
Pomacentridae
Japanese gregory
Plectroglyphidodon altus
Macrouridae
Japanese grenadier
Coelorinchus japonicus
Callionymidae
Japanese highfin deepwater dragonet
Callionymus sokonumeri
Monacanthidae
Japanese inflator filefish
Brachaluteres ulvarum
Carangidae
Japanese jack mackerel
Trachurus japonicus
Myctophidae
japanese lanternfish
Notoscopelus japonicus
Lethrinidae
Japanese large-eye bream
Gymnocranius euanus
Monacanthidae
Japanese leatherjacket
Paramonacanthus japonicus
Bothidae
Japanese lefteye flounder
Arnoglossus japonicus
Labridae
Japanese Leopard Wrasse
Macropharyngodon moyeri
Callionymidae
Japanese longtail dragonet
Callionymus japonicus
Cyclopteridae
Japanese Lumpsucker
Eumicrotremus awae
Apogonidae
Japanese Naked-cardinalfish
Gymnapogon japonicus
Callionymidae
Japanese ornate dragonet
Repomucenus ornatipinnis
Labridae
Japanese parrotfish
Calotomus japonicus
Macrouridae
Japanese pugnose grenadier
Nezumia condylura
Oxynotidae
Japanese roughshark
Oxynotus japonicus
Emmelichthyidae
Japanese rubyfish
Erythrocles schlegelii
Dorosomatidae
Japanese sardinella
Sardinella zunasi
04 / FIELD NOTES
A closer look
Is this a complete species list?
No. These are available published records with images, not an exhaustive inventory or a measure of abundance.
How can I check a claim?
Follow the scientific name and source, check the scope of the evidence, and send a correction with the exact claim if needed.