Lestidiops jayakari

Lestidiops jayakari

The Pacific Barracudina (Lestidiops jayakari Boulenger, 1889) is a fish belonging to the Paralepididae family.

Systematics –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota Domain,
Kingdom Animalia,
Phylum Chordata,
Actinopterygii class,
Order Aulopiformes,
Paralepididae family,
Genus Lestidiops,
L. jayakari species.
Within this species, the following subspecies are recognized:
– Lestidiops jayakari jayakari (Boulenger, 1889);
– Lestidiops jayakari pseudosphyraenoides (Ege, 1918);
– Lestidiops jayakari pacifica (Parr, 1931).

Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
The Lestidiops jayakari is a fish that lives in the tropical and sub tropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans (excluding the south-eastern Pacific). Reports have also been made in the Mediterranean.
It is a bathypelagic fish that normally lives between 300 and 600 m, but can go up to 50 m, as well as it can go down to higher depths, up to 2000 m.

Description –
The Lestidiops jayakari has an elongated and pointed body (especially after the larval stage), it is without scales, which, on the other hand, are present along the lateral line. The head is four and a half times the total length of the body and the muzzle is a little less than half the head.
It has a maximum known size of almost 17 cm.
The dorsal fin is short, with 9-10 soft rays and is placed a little behind the half of the body. Near the tail there is a short adipose dorsal fin. The pectorals have 11-12 soft rays. The pelvic fins originate clearly before the dorsal fin and have 9 rays. The anal fin is far back and has 28-33 rays (29-31 for others), which are completed at the 20 mm stage. The anal opening is positioned at or after the dorsal fin already at the 20 mm stage. The ventral fins begin clearly before the dorsal and its nine rays complete, as for the dorsal fin, at the 25 mm stage. There is also a ventral adipose keel. 76-85 vertebrae-
It has a dull background color, with a dark dorsal band formed by numerous irregular lines due to finely pigmented cells and some melanophore.

Biology –
The Lestidiops jayakari is a species with an almost unknown biology and of which little is known about its biology even if it reproduces all year round in the tropical and sub tropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans (excluding the south-eastern Pacific).
The larvae and the juvenile stages are found around 200 m.

Ecological Role –
The Lestidiops jayakari is a fish that normally frequents sea depths between 300 and 600 m, being able to go up to 50 m, as well as it can go down to higher depths, up to 2000 m.

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– Louisy P., 2016. Guide to the identification of marine fish of Europe and the Mediterranean. Il Castello Editore, Milan.
– Nikiforos G., 2008. Mediterranean fauna. Giunti Editore, Florence.