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Genus of fishes From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Acanthocepola is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cepolidae, the bandfishes. They are native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.
| Acanthocepola | |
|---|---|
| |
| Red-spotted Bandfish (A. krusensternii) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Acanthuriformes |
| Family: | Cepolidae |
| Subfamily: | Cepolinae |
| Genus: | Acanthocepola Bleeker, 1874[1] |
| Type species | |
| Cepola krusensternii Temminck & Schlegel, 1845[1] | |
Acanthocepola is classified within the subfamily Cepolinae.[2] The genus was first formally described in 1874 by the Dutch physician and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker who designated Cepola krusensternii, which had been described by Coenraad Jacob Temminck & Hermann Schlegel in 1845, as the type species, although the genus was also monotypic.[1] The genus name, Acanthocepola is a compound of acanthus meaning "spine" and Cepola the type genus of the family Cepolidae, a reference to the spines on the edge of the preoperculum.[3]
There are currently four recognized species in this genus:[4]
Acanthocepola bandfishes are similar to Cepola bandfishes, in that they have the last ray of the dorsal and anal fins connected to the caudal fin by a membrane. The differences are that they have spines on the margin of the preoperculum and scales on their cheeks.[5] The total length of these fishes vary from 30 cm (12 in) in A. abbreviata to 50 cm (20 in) in A. limbata.[4] They are normally pinkish or reddish in colour.[5]
Acanthocepola bandfishes are found in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans, from the coast of Eastern Africa east to the Western Central Pacific, north to Japan and south to Australia.[4] They create burrows in flat areas of sand and mud substrates, feeding on zooplankton.[5] They live as pairs hovering over their burrows, retreating to the burrow when alarmed. Juveniles can be found in small groups.[6]
Acanthocepola bandfishes are not targeted by fisheries but are caught as a bycatch.[5]
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