Chirocentrodon bleekerianus (Teleostei: Clupeiformes: Pristigasteridae), a small predaceous herring with folded and distinctively oriented prey in stomach

Predaceous fish-eating species of the order Clupeiformes have a large mouth with well-developed teeth, and reach the greatest sizes within their families (up to 90 cm). We found that the pristigasterid Chirocentrodon bleekerianus, a small clupeiform (about 10 cm) from the tropical SW Atlantic, is ab...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brazilian journal of biology 2004-02, Vol.64 (1), p.165-168
Main Authors: Sazima, C, Moura, R L, Sazima, I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
BIOLOGY
Chirocentrodon bleekerianus
Clupeiformes
convergence
Feeding Behavior
Fishes - physiology
folding of prey
Gastrointestinal Contents
piscivory
predaceous habits
Predatory Behavior
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Predaceous fish-eating species of the order Clupeiformes have a large mouth with well-developed teeth, and reach the greatest sizes within their families (up to 90 cm). We found that the pristigasterid Chirocentrodon bleekerianus, a small clupeiform (about 10 cm) from the tropical SW Atlantic, is able to prey on proportionally large clupeoid fishes and caridean shrimps. Fish preys are folded in the stomach of this herring, their heads and tails pointing toward the predator's head. This distinctive orientation of fish prey is also recorded for some small to medium-sized, fish-eating species of the tropical freshwater order Characiformes with canine-like teeth similar to those found in C. bleekerianus.
ISSN:1519-6984
1678-4375
1519-6984
DOI:10.1590/S1519-69842004000100018