Friday, 30 May 2014

A Lot of Info about the Snake Mackerel

This information is taken from "Fishes of the Open Ocean" by Julian Pepperell.

Gemplyus serpens

The snake mackerel gives its name to the family, Gempylidae. It is an elongated, sinuous fish with well set back dorsal and anal fins and a series of finlets in front of a broad, forked tail. At the other end, it has a long snout and a large mouth equipped with very large, sharp teeth. Fishes with these features which include barracuda and needlefish, are "hover predators" - meaning that when they detect prey, they remain motionless before making a sudden forward lunge to grab the prey in their, long, toothed jaws.

This is probably the most widespread of the gempylids. It occurs globally in tropical, subtropical and, less frequently temperate waters. In contrast to many of the gempylids, which are benthopelagic, the snake mackerel is often found in the surface layers of the world's oceans and is a common bycatch of oceanic longline fisheries. Catches of intermittent, single fish on a longline suggest that this is a solitary hunter.

The snake mackerel grows to a length of about 1.2 metres.