Imperial blackfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scombriformes
Family: Centrolophidae
Genus: Schedophilus
Species:
S. ovalis
Binomial name
Schedophilus ovalis
(G. Cuvier, 1833)
Synonyms
  • Centrolophus ovalis Cuvier, 1833
  • Mupus ovalis (Cuvier, 1833)
  • Centrolophus crassus Cuvier, 1833
  • Leirus bennettii Lowe, 1834
  • Crius berthelotii Valenciennes, 1839
  • Mupus imperialis Cocco, 1840
  • Centrolophus porosissimus Canestrini, 1864
  • Centrolophus rotundicauda Costa, 1866
  • Schedophilus botteri Steindachner, 1868
  • Centrolophus corcyrensis Kolombatović, 1902
  • Eucrotus ventralis Bean, 1912

The imperial blackfish, Schedophilus ovalis, is a medusafish of the family Centrolophidae found in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea, and occasionally in the western Atlantic (Bermuda). It occurs at depths of between 70 and 700 m.[1] In its juvenile stage, it is often found finding shelter amongst the tentacles of floating jellyfish, including the Portuguese man o' war.[1][2] It grows to 100 cm (39 in) total length.[1]

Distribution

The Imperial Blackfish was first discovered in the Aegean Sea in 2009.[3] It had previously been discovered in the waters around northern Spain, the Bay of Biscay, Portugal, the waters near northwestern France, and the North Sea. In December 2001, it was first discovered in Irish waters near the Blasket Islands off the coast of County Kerry.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Schedophilus ovalis" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  2. ^ Honeyborne, James & Mark Brownlow (2017). Blue Planet II. Ebury Publishing. p. 293. ISBN 978-1-4735-3007-2.
  3. ^ Corsini-Foka, Maria; Frantzis, Alexandros (2009-06-01). "First documented record of imperial blackfish, Schedophilus ovalis (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Centrolophidae), in the Aegean Greek waters". Acta Ichthyologica Et Piscatoria. 39 (1): 47–49. doi:10.3750/AIP2009.39.1.09.
  4. ^ Quigley, D. T. G.; Flannery, K. (2004). "First Record of the Imperial Blackfish Schedophilus ovalis (Cuvier, 1833) from Irish Waters, Together with a Review of NE Atlantic Records". The Irish Naturalists' Journal. 27 (10): 393–395. ISSN 0021-1311.


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