Photo Scanner: Lookdown Catfish

Wednesday 31 October 2012

Lookdown Catfish

The lookdown, Selene vomer, is a game fish of the Carangidae family. The lookdown was first described in 1758 by the "father of taxonomy", Carolus Linnaeus, in the 10th edition of his book Systema Naturae. Although the lookdown is similar to the Atlantic moonfish, it can be distinguished by its dorsal and anal fins, the second ray on each fin being many times longer than the surrounding rays. This gives the dorsal and anal fins a noticeably scythe-like shape. Also, the dorsal fin of the lookdown has 9 spines and 23 rays, while the anal fin has only 3 spines and 18 rays. The lookdown, like the Atlantic moonfish, had a deep, rhombus-shaped, laterally-compressed body. The head has the mouth set low and the eyes high. The overall profile of a lookdown's head is concave. The caudal fin of the lookdown is forked, as in the Pompanos, while the pectoral fin is similar to a scythe and reaches the middle of the second of the lookdown's dorsal fin.