Least Concern Archives | Oceana

Great Barracuda

Great barracudas have a large mouth containing two sets of teeth. The outer row of small, razor-sharp teeth are for tearing, and the inner set of larger teeth for piercing. These closely set teeth work in tandem to rip into the flesh of their prey. The long needle-like teeth fit into holes in the opposing … Read more

Sailfish

Sailfish are a type of billfish (like the blue marlin or swordfish) that are known not only for their pointed bills, but also their extraordinary dorsal fins that can be taller than the length of their bodies.1 Sailfish start out as tiny larvae, no more than a few millimeters in length, but grow rapidly during … Read more

Scorpionfish

Scorpionfish are bottom-dwelling fish that have also been called rockfish or stonefish because of their tendency to live among rocks near the seafloor. There are more than 200 known species of scorpionfish in the ocean. Members of this fish family are commonly found in the Indian and South Pacific Oceans where water temperatures are temperate … Read more

Tropical Two-wing Flyingfish

Tropical two-wing flyingfish feed on plankton crustaceans and other small invertebrates. They have large eyes and excellent eyesight and can therefore hunt and eat individual plankton. This is in stark contrast to the very large-bodied filter feeders (like the whale shark or basking shark), which blindly filter huge volumes of water in order to obtain sufficient food. Tropical two-wing … Read more

Summer Flounder

Like all flatfishes, summer flounder have both of their eyes on the same side of their heads, and they live on the seafloor, lying on their blind side, with their eyes facing the open water column. This species is one of several “sand flounders,” with both eyes on the left side of the head. Amazingly, when they … Read more

Spotted Ratfish

Like sharks and rays, the chimaeras have skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone. This characteristic links those three groups of fishes and distinguishes them from the bony fishes. The spotted ratfish is a generalist predator and eats a variety of invertebrates and fishes associated with the seafloor. These include crabs, clams, and other hard-shelled prey, and the … Read more

Skipjack Tuna

The skipjack tuna is a common species in the open ocean that forms very large schools, often around floating objects. A single floating log or slowly moving adult whale shark may have tens of thousands of skipjack around it. There are several hypotheses as to why this phenomenon occurs, but scientists generally agree that skipjack use these objects – … Read more

Queen Angelfish

Queen angelfish are foragers and eat a variety of sessile invertebrates and plants, including sponges, algae, corals, soft corals, and others. Juveniles clean parasites and loose scales off of large fishes, including some that are predatory. These angelfish are typically observed alone or in pairs, but higher densities form in some areas. Queen angelfish reproduce via broadcast spawning, … Read more

Mexican Lookdown

The Mexico lookdown is native to shallow, coastal waters from the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico to northern South America. Mexican lookdowns are foraging predators that feed over sandy and muddy soft bottoms. They are known to eat a variety of small invertebrates – including shrimps, squids, and polychaete worms – as well as small fishes. They feed … Read more

Guineafowl Puffer

The guineafowl puffer, like all puffers, has powerful jaws and beak-like teeth. The teeth of the upper jaw are fused into two tooth plates, as are the teeth in the lower jaw. In fact, the family name for puffers (Tetraodontidae) means “four teeth,” reflecting the two tooth plates that these fishes have in each jaw. Guineafowl puffers … Read more