| Phylum Chordata
> Subphylum Vertebrate > fishes |
Tripletail
Lobotes
surinamensis
Family Lobotidae
updated
Feb 11
Where
seen? This
fish floats on its side with its head down, pretending to be a leaf
or bit of floating rubbish. It was seen at Tanah Merah.
Features: 20cm to 1m. The forehead
is steeply sloping and humped. The tail fin and the ends of the dorsal
and anal fins are rounded and about equal sized, thus giving the impression
that the fish has three tails. Colours varies from dark or reddish
brown with dark mottles to pale. Adults are dark brown or greenish
yellow above, silvery grey below; pectorals pale yellow, other fins
darker than body; caudal fin with yellow margin.
May be mistaken for the Brown
sweetlips (Plectorhinchus gibbosus).
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Tanah Merah,
Jun 09 |
Adults
are found in bays, coastal areas and muddy estuaries and lower
reaches of large rivers. Ocassionally near reefs and among floating
objects far out at sea. Young fishes may be found drifting with
sargassum weed, pretending to be floating leaves.
What does it eat? It feeds on small fishes and crustaceans
that live on the bottom.
Human uses: It is eaten
in some places. |
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Tripletails
on Singapore shores
Tanah Merah,
Jun 09 |
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Tanah Merah,
Jul 11 |
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Family
Lobotidae recorded for Singapore
from
Wee Y.C. and Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity
in Singapore.
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.
Periplus Editions. 292 pp.