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Saturday 24 November 2012

Australian Prowfish

Prowfish (Zaprora silenus) are subtropical perciform marine fish found in the North Pacific. They are the only member of their family, Zaproridae. They should not be confused with the Australian prowfish of the unrelated family Pataecidae. Prowfish range from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska west to Kamchatka, Russia; fromNavarin Canyon in the Bering Sea south to Hokkaido, Japan and Monterey, California. An otherwise little-known species, prowfish are important to subsistence fisheries in remote regions. Growing to a length of 100 centimetres or more, prowfish have stout, laterally compressed and elongate bodies. They have a single, somewhat high dorsal fin running nearly the entire length of the back; it may contain 54-58 pliable spines. The anal fin is also fairly extensive. The tail fin is large, rounded and truncate; the pectoral fins are enlarged and pelvic fins are conspicuously absent. The mouth is slightly upturned with small, closely set sharp teeth confined to the jaws. The head is convex, ending in a projecting snout. This explains the family name Zaproridae; from the Greek za, an intensifier, and prorameaning "prow." The species name silneus is a reference to Silenus, a figure in Greek mythology.