The Elopidae are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

containing a single living genus ''Elops''. They are commonly known as ladyfish, skipjacks, jack-rashes, or tenpounders. The ladyfish are a coastal-dwelling fish found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions, occasionally venturing into temperate waters.Adams, A. J., Horodysky, A. Z., McBride, R. S., Guindon, K., Shenker, J., MacDonald, T. C., Harwell, H. D., Ward, R., and Carpenter, K. Global conservation status and research needs for tarpons (Megalopidae), ladyfishes (Elopidae) and bonefishes (Albulidae). Fish and Fisheries (online, early view as of 2013). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/faf.12017/abstract

Spawning Spawn is the Egg cell, eggs and Spermatozoa, sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water (fresh or marine); the physical act is ...

takes place at sea, and the

fish larva A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fins and a hard skull, but lacking limbs with digits. Fish can be grouped into the more basal jawless fish and the more common jawed fis ...

e migrate inland entering brackish waters. Their food is smaller fish and

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s (

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

). Typically throughout the species, the maximum size is and the maximum weight . The body is fusiform (tapering spindle shape) and oval in cross-section; being slightly laterally compressed, and the eyes are large and partially covered with

adipose eyelid An adipose eyelid is a transparent eyelid found in some species of fish, that covers some or all of the eye. They are most commonly found on deep sea (benthic) fish, but can also be seen on non-benthic fish. Fish with this feature include milkfish ...

s. Like those of

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

s, the larvae are leptocephalic - being highly compressed, ribbon-like, and transparent. After initial growth, they shrink and then metamorphose into the adult form. This family is fished, but their bodies are bony, so these fish are not marketed widely for consumption. They are caught and used as bait or may be ground down for fish meal.

Etymology

The name comes from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

(''élops''), variant of (''éllops''), referring to a kind of serpent or serpentlike sea fish. Compare the name of the unrelated family

Elapidae Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids , from , variant of "sea-fish") is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus '' Emydocephalus ...

Species

The currently recognized extant species in this genus are: * ''

Elops affinis The Pacific ladyfish (''Elops affinis''), also known as the Pacific tenpounder and machete, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Elops'', the only genus in the monotypic family Elopidae. The Pacific ladyfish can be found throughout the ...

'' Regan, 1909 (Pacific ladyfish) * †''

Elops bultyncki The Elopidae are a family of ray-finned fish containing a single living genus ''Elops''. They are commonly known as ladyfish, skipjacks, jack-rashes, or tenpounders. The ladyfish are a coastal-dwelling fish found throughout the tropical and su ...

'' Nolf, 2004 * †''

Elops eutawanus ''Elops eutawanus'' is an extinct species of ''Elops'' that lived during the Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous epoch. Distribution ''Elops eutawanus'' fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impressio ...

'' Schwarzhans et al., 2018 * ''

Elops hawaiensis The Hawaiian ladyfish (''Elops hawaiensis''), also known as the Hawaiian tenpounder or banana fish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Elopidae. It is sometimes referred to as the giant herring, though it is not closely related to the tr ...

'' Regan, 1909 (Hawaiian ladyfish or giant herring) * ''

Elops lacerta The West African ladyfish (''Elops lacerate'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Elopidae. It is native to the coastal waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from Senegal to Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a ...

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, 1847 (West African ladyfish or Guinean ladyfish) * ''

Elops machnata ''Elops machnata'', the tenpounder, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Elopidae in the order Elopiformes (tarpons and tenpounders). This species is found in coastal regions of the Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-large ...

'' ( Forsskål, 1775) (tenpounder) * †'' Elops miiformis'' Lin et al., 2016 * ''

Elops saurus The ladyfish or tenpounder (''Elops saurus'') is a species of fish in the genus ''Elops'', the only genus in the monotypic family Elopidae. Description Like other species in its genus, the ladyfish has a long, slender, rounded body covered wi ...

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 1766 (ladyfish) * ''

Elops senegalensis The Senegalese ladyfish (''Elops senegalensis'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Elopidae, and it's native to the coastal waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Mauritania to the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democr ...

'' Regan, 1909 (Senegalese ladyfish) * '' Elops smithi''

McBride McBride may refer to: * McBride (surname), the Irish surname held by many notable individuals Places * Sebree, Kentucky, United States, originally known as McBride * McBride, Michigan, United States * McBride, Mississippi, United States * McBride, ...

Rocha Rocha may refer to: * Rocha (surname), a Portuguese surname * Rocha, Moca, Puerto Rico, a barrio in the municipality of Moca, Puerto Rico * Rocha, Rio de Janeiro, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil * Rocha, Uruguay, capital city of the R ...

, Ruiz-Carus & Bowen, 2010 (malacho)

References

Pantropical fish Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Extant Early Cretaceous first appearances Teleostei families {{Elopiformes-stub

Etymology

Species

See also

References