The lighthouse lizardfish ''(Synodus jaculum)'' 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 mainly in the Indo-Pacific.

Information

The lighthouse lizardfish is known to live in a marine environment within a depth range of about 2–100 meters. They are native to reef-associated locations within a tropical climate. The average length of the Synodus jaculum as an unsexed male is about 10 centimeters or 3.9 inches. The maximum recorded length of the Synodus jaculum as an unsexed male is about 20 centimeters or 7.87 inches. This species is identified by its brown colored body with the dark brown splotches. This species also has transparent fins. The lighthouse lizardfish is native to the areas of Indo-Pacific, East Africa, Marquesan, Society islands, north to the Izu Islands in Japan, south to New South Wales in Australia, Palau, and Kosrae in Micronesia. This species occupies coral reefs and it is found on sand or rubble near coral heads. This species of fish is caught and sold as fresh and salted in markets. It is also common to find this species isolated, in pairs, or in small groups.

Etymology

The specific epithet of the species, ''

jaculum ''Hasta'' (plural: ''hastae'') is a Latin word meaning "spear". ''Hastae'' were carried by early Roman legionaries, in particular they were carried by and gave their name to those Roman soldiers known as ''hastati''. However, during republican t ...

'', is the Latin word for javelin, in reference to the peculiar behaviour this species has of launching itself off the bottom and swimming in midwater for prolonged periods.Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 1979

Common names

The common names for the Synodus jaculum from different languages is as follows: *French : Anoli phare *English : Black-tailed lizardfish *English : Blackblotch lizardfish *English : Blacktail lizardfish *English : Javelinfish *Spanish : Lagarto faro *Japanese : Oguro-eso *Portuguese : Peixe-banana faroleiro

Classification

The taxonomic classification of the Synodus jaculum is as follows: *Kingdom : Animalia *Phylum : Chordata *Class : Actinopterygii *Order : Aulopiformes *Family : Synodontidae *Genus : Synodus *Species : Synodus jaculum

References

Notes

External links

* Synodontidae Taxa named by Barry C. Russell Taxa named by Roger Frank Cressey Jr. Fish described in 1979 {{Aulopiformes-stub