Bandfish

For the family of gastropods also called Cepolidae from the superfamily Helicoidea, see Cepolidae (gastropods).
Bandfishes
Cepola haastii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Superfamily: Cepoloidea
Family: Cepolidae
Rafinesque, 1810
Genera[1]

Acanthocepola
Cepola
Owstonia
Pseudocepola
Sphenanthias

Bandfishes are a family, Cepolidae, of perciform marine fishes. They are native to the East Atlantic and Indo-Pacific, including the Mediterranean and off Southern Australia and New Zealand. They dig burrows in sandy or muddy seabed and eat zooplankton.[1] As suggested by the name, bandfishes are elongated in shape, up to 80 cm (31 in) long (most species only reach around half that length), and typically reddish, pinkish or yellowish in color. They are mainly found from 80 to 500 m (260 to 1,640 ft), though most species in the genera Acanthocepola and Cepola occur at shallower depths.

The oldest recipe by a named author involves the preparation of a bandfish. The original recipe book, by Mithaecus, is now lost, but the recipe itself survives thanks to being quoted in the Deipnosophistae.[2][3]

Timeline



References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2013). "Cepolidae" in FishBase. February 2013 version.
  2. ↑ Dalby, Andrew (2003). Food in the ancient world from A to Z. Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England: Routledge. pp. 79, 220. ISBN 0-415-23259-7.
  3. ↑ Dalby, Andrew (1996). Siren Feasts. Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England: Routledge. pp. 109–110. ISBN 0-415-15657-2.