Encheliophis homei (Richardson, 1846)

Silver pearlfish

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Actinopterygii \| Ophidiiformes \| Carapidae \| Carapinae
Synonyms	Oxybeles homei, Carapus homei, Fierasfer homei, ... more
Common names	... more

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Image of Encheliophis homei (Silver pearlfish)

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AquaMaps Data sources: GBIF OBIS

Main reference

Nielsen, J.G., D.M. Cohen, D.F. Markle and C.R. Robins. 1999. (Ref. 34024)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 19.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 6347)

Environment

Reef-associated; non-migratory; marine; depth range 0 - 30 m (Ref. 37816)

Climate / Range

Tropical; 25°N - 35°S

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and the east coast of Africa (Ref. 583) to the Society Islands (Ref. 9710), as far north as Taiwan, but not Hawaii, and probably south to Tasmania.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Eel-like, moderate to shallow body depth; maxilla free and movable; cardiform teeth present; branchiostegal membranes partly or completely united; swim bladder with thin terminal membrane or bulb; lacking enlarged dentary or premaxillary fangs, dentary diastema, pelvic fins, and swim bladder rocker bone (Ref. 34024). Precaudal vertebrae 16-19 (Ref. 34024).

This uncommon (Ref. 34024) pearlfish inhabits the coelom and respiratory trees of some holothurians, especially Stichopus chloronotus and Holothuria argus. It is apparently in competition with Jordanicus gracilis [= Encheliophis gracilis] for its preferred host H. argus. Although most occur singly, there is a tendency towards sexual pairing inside the host. Found to depths over 30 m (Ref. 9710). Stomach contents which include amphipod, shrimp and fish indicate non-parasitic, foraging habits (Ref. 6395).


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Not Evaluated	Harmless

Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment Abundance	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

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Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)

PD₅₀ = 0.5156

Resilience (Ref. 69278)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
Low vulnerability (10 of 100)	Not marketed/unknown

Entered by Luna, Susan M.

Modified by Capuli, Estelita Emily

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