Opahs and Relatives: Lampridiformes - Behavior And Reproduction, Opahs, Their Relatives, And People, Oarfish (regalecus Glesne): Species Account - PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS, GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, CONSERVATION STATUS
live fishes medium sized
Opahs are almost round when viewed from the side, but their relatives are long and slender. Opahs and their relatives have red fins and brightly colored bodies. The jaw structure allows these fishes suddenly to open their mouths to forty times the closed size and use enormous suction to capture plankton, or microscopic plants and animals drifting in water.
Opahs and their relatives live in all oceans except in polar waters.
Opahs and their relatives are strictly saltwater fishes. Some live near the shore, and some live in the deep ocean, from surface waters to depths of hundreds of feet.
Opahs and their relatives eat crustacean (krus-TAY-shun) plankton, small to medium-sized squid, and small to medium-sized fishes. Crustaceans are water-dwelling animals that have jointed legs and a hard shell but no backbone.
Opahs and their relatives are not threatened or endangered.
Additional Topics
Scientists do not know much about opahs and their relatives. The long forms hold themselves straight up and down in the water. The other forms swim belly down and head forward the way most fish do. Opahs are powerful swimmers, using their large pectoral (PECK-ter-uhl) fins to move themselves forward. The pectoral fins are the front pair, corresponding to the front legs of four-footed animals. One …
Physical characteristics: Oarfish are spectacular animals with long, slender, usually silver bodies, brilliant red fins, a large plume of dorsal fin rays on the head, and long pelvic or back fins. Often attaining a length of 26–33 feet (8–10 meters), oarfish are the longest of all bony fishes. The pelvic fin ray has a large red swelling at its tip that looks like the blade of an oar.…
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