Teleostei (teleosts) >
Ophidiiformes (Cusk eels) >
Carapidae (Pearlfishes) > Carapinae
Eponymy: Roger Mourlan (1912–1987) made two documentary films on expeditions of which he was a member -Madagascar (1932) with Georges Petit, during which expedition the pearfish holotype was collected, and Marcel Griaule’s Sahara-Sudan expedition (1935). [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 1 - 150 m (Ref. 34024). Tropical
Indo-Pacific: East Africa to Hawaii, throughout Micronesia and Amami Islands, southern Japan.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 21.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 30504)
Dorsal soft rays (total): 35 - 41; Anal soft rays: 54 - 61; Vertebrae: 102 - 114. Eel-like, moderate to shallow body depth; cardiform teeth present but restricted to upper jaw symphysis; swim bladder constricted (under vertebrae 9 or 10) forming two chambers; lacking enlarged dentary or premaxillary fangs, dentary diastema, pelvic fins and swim bladder rockerbone (Ref. 34024). Differs from Encheliophis homei by possessing scattered melanophores over most of the body (Ref. 37816).
Common species (Ref. 34024). Found in starfishes (mainly) and holothurians (Ref. 4104), usually in a male - female pair (Ref. 11228). Benthic (Ref. 58302). In Micronesia, it prefers the pincushion starfish Culcita novaeguinae for a host. Also known to occur in certain holothurians (Bohadschia argus, Stichopus sp.) on rare occasions (Ref. 1602); for the first time with Isostichopus fuscus along the coast of Ecuador (Ref. 57700).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Nielsen, J.G., D.M. Cohen, D.F. Markle and C.R. 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 Fish. Synop. 125(18):178p. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 34024)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 23.6 - 28.9, mean 27.6 °C (based on 1346 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5312 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00102 (0.00046 - 0.00225), b=3.06 (2.88 - 3.24), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.6 ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (11 of 100).
