Worm pearlfish

Worm pearlfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Actinopterygii
Order:Ophidiiformes
Family:Carapidae
Genus:Encheliophis
Species: E. vermicularis[1]
Binomial name
Encheliophis vermicularis[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Encheliophis jordani Heller & Snodgrass, 1903
  • Encheliophiops hancocki Reid, 1940
  • Encheliophis hancocki (Reid, 1940)

The worm pearlfish, Encheliophis vermicularis, is a pearlfish species in the genus Encheliophis.[3] The average length of an unsexed or male fish is about 12 cm.[2]

Habitat and range

E. vermicularis lives in a marine, reef-based environment in a tropical climate.[2] They can be found in inshore waters and coral reefs.[3] They can be found in the Indo-Pacific, the Gulf of Aden, around the Philippines and Society Islands, and north to the Ryukyus to the eastern Pacific.[2]

Biology

The worm pearlfish is a parasite of holothurians, each host is normally home to a pair of these fishes. Species recorded as hosting this species include Holothuria leucospilota, H.scabra, H.lubrica and Thelenota ananas.[2] It is an uncommon species.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Encheliophis vermicularis Finless pearlfish". Animal Diversity. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Encheliophis vermicularis". FishBase. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Encheliophis vermicularis". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  4. ↑ Jørgen G. Nielsen; Daniel M. Cohen; Douglas F. Markle & C. Richard Robins (1999). OPHIDIIFORM FISHES OF THE WORLD (Order Ophidiiformes) An annotated and illustrated catalogue of pearlfishes, cusk-eels, brotulas and other ophidiiform fishes known to date. FAO Species Catalogues. 17. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. p. 16. ISBN 92-5-104375-2.


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