Dactylopterus volitans

Dactylopterus volitans
Flying gurnard
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Dactylopteridae
Genus: Dactylopterus
Lacépède, 1801
Species: D. volitans
Binomial name
Dactylopterus volitans
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms

Callionymus pelagicus Rafinesque, 1818
Cephalacanthus spinarella (Linnaeus, 1758)
Cephalacanthus volitans (Linnaeus, 1758)
Dactilopterus volitans (Linnaeus, 1758)
Dactylopterus blochii Swainson, 1839
Dactylopterus communis Owen, 1853
Dactylopterus fasciatus Swainson, 1839
Dactylopterus occidentalis Swainson, 1839
Dactylopterus spinarella (Linnaeus, 1758)
Dactylopterus tentaculatus Swainson, 1839
Dactylopterus vulgaris Steindachner, 1867
Gasterosteus spinarella Linnaeus, 1758
Gonocephalus macrocephalus Gronow, 1854
Polynemus sexradiatus Mitchill, 1818
Trigla fasciata Bloch & Schneider, 1801
Trigla volitans Linnaeus, 1758

The flying gurnard, Dactylopterus volitans, is a fish of tropical to warm temperate waters on both sides of the Atlantic, found as far north as New Jersey and south as Brazil, and from the English Channel to Angola.

As of August 2009, The flying gurnard has been seen by SCUBA divers in beds of sea grass off the north coast of the Dominican Republic in less than 10 feet of water. When calm, the fish looks fairly normal, other than its odd box shape. When excited, the fish spreads its "wings", which are semi-transparent but tipped with a beautiful and phosphorescent bright blue coloration (designed to scare away predators). The prominent front portion of the "wing" is shaped much like the foot of an amphibian, which causes the fish to take on a "lizard-like" look.

The fish also has large eyes and the head is similar to species of a porcupine pufferfish.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Dactylopterus volitans — Grondin volant …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Dactylopterus volitans — Grondin volant Dactylopterus volitans …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Dactylopterus volitans — europinis sparnapelekis statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Dactylopterus volitans angl. boatfish; flying gurnard; flying robin rus. европейская летучка; львиная голова; средиземноморский долгопёр ryšiai …   Žuvų pavadinimų žodynas

  • Dactylopterus — volitans Grondin volant …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Dactylopterus blochii — Dactylopterus volitans Grondin volant …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Dactylopterus communis — Dactylopterus volitans Grondin volant …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Dactylopterus fasciatus — Dactylopterus volitans Grondin volant …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Dactylopterus occidentalis — Dactylopterus volitans Grondin volant …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Dactylopterus spinarella — Dactylopterus volitans Grondin volant …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Dactylopterus tentaculatus — Dactylopterus volitans Grondin volant …   Wikipédia en Français

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