Haemulon vittata

Haemulon vittata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Haemulidae
Genus: Haemulon
Species: G. vittata
Binomial name
Haemulon vittata
(Poey, 1860)

Haemulon vittata, commonly called boga, is a species of marine fish in the family Haemulidae.

Description

The boga is a small sized fish that can reach a maximum length of 23 cm, but the ones usually observed are rather 18 cm.[1][2] It has a laterally compressed and spindle-shape body with a forked caudal fin. Its background color is silver blue with dark horizontal lines. Its mouth is highly protrusible and underlined with bronze yellow.

Distribution & habitat

The boga is widespread throughout the western Atlantic Ocean from South Carolina state to the cost of Venezuela, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.[3]

The boga lives in open water sometimes close to islands and it can also be observed on top of reefs for cleaning or resting between 15 and 50 meters deep.[2][4]

Biology

The boga lives in large school and feeds on zooplankton and rarely on tiny fishes.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Claro, R., 1994. Características generales de la ictiofauna. p. 55-70. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo.
  2. 1 2 Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez, 1992. Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de Sur América. FAO, Rome. 513 p. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD.
  3. ↑ Smith, C.L., 1997. National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
  4. ↑ Lieske, E. and R. Myers, 1994. Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
  5. ↑ Rocha, L.A., K.C. Lindeman, C.R. Rocha and H.A. Lessios, 2008. Historical biogeography and speciation in the reef fish genus Haemulon (Teleostei: Haemulidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 48(2008):918-928.

External links


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