The greater lizardfish ''(Saurida tumbil)'' is a species of
lizardfish
The Synodontidae or lizardfishes(or typical lizardfish to distinguish them from the Bathysauridae and Pseudotrichonotidae) are benthic (bottom-dwelling) marine and estuarine bony fishes that belong to the aulopiform fish order, a diverse grou ...
that lives in the Indo-Pacific.
[ They are a minor fishery.
]
Distribution
They live in the Indo-West Pacific. More specifically, their geographic range spans from Red Sea and east coast of Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
(except Kenya), including Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
to the Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...
, Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...
, and further east to southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
and Australia but they do not appear to occur in the central or eastern Pacific.[
]
Short description
Its average length at maturation is (range 19–35 cm) and maximum length is fork length.[ They have neither dorsal spines nor anal spines but display 11–13 dorsal soft rays (total) and 10–11 anal soft rays. Body is cigar-shaped, rounded or slightly compressed. The head is pointed and depressed. The snout is broader than long. Color is generally brown above and silver below. The back has faint cross bands. The tips of the dorsal and pectorals and the lower caudal lobe are blackish.][
]
Biology
This species is found on muddy bottoms and trawling grounds. It feeds on fishes, crustaceans, and cephalopods.[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2632361
greater lizardfish
Fish of the Red Sea
Fish of the Persian Gulf
greater lizardfish
Taxa named by Marcus Elieser Bloch