Indo-Pacific tarpon
| Indo-Pacific tarpon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Elopiformes |
| Family: | Megalopidae |
| Genus: | Megalops |
| Species: | Megalops cyprinoides |
| Binomial name | |
| Megalops cyprinoides (Broussonet, 1782) | |
The Indo-Pacific tarpon or oxeye, Megalops cyprinoides, inhabits tropical coastal and brackish waters of the Indo-Pacific oceans.
In appearance, it is like the Atlantic tarpon, Megalops atlanticus: olive-green on top, and silver on the sides. The large mouth is turned upwards; the lower jaw contains an elongated, bony plate. The last ray of the dorsal fin is much longer than the others, reaching nearly to the tail.
It feeds on smaller fish and crustaceans. It is capable of filling its swim bladder with air and absorbing oxygen from it.
The Indo-Pacific tarpon migrates between the open sea and inland rivers. As with all Elopiformes, it spawns at sea, the larvae migrate inland and are leptocephalic (flattened, transparent and eel-like).
Australia
Tarpon live in many tropical areas of Australia in both freshwater and saltwater. Species in fresh water tend to be smaller than the saltwater species, growing just over 50 cm, while saltwater species grow over a metre. In saltwater, they mainly feed on prawns and herring, but also many other small fish. In freshwater, there is no significant difference in their food habits; they eat freshwater prawns and bony bream, mainly. Unlike the barramundi, they are able to breed in freshwater and saltwater.
References
Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2005). "Megalops cyprinoides" in FishBase. 05 2005 version.