Oder Scorpaeniformes Family Hoplichthyidae(ghost flatheads) Spiny ghost flathead Hoplichthys langsdorfii(G. Cuvier, 1829). max length/20cmTL. Korean name/ga-si-yang-tae(가시양태) Japanese name/ナツハリゴチ(Natsu-hari-gochi/나츠하리고치) Chinese name/郎氏針鯒(藍氏棘鯒) D1/spine 6-15, D2/soft rays 15. A/soft rays 16~18. Pectoral fin/soft rays 12~13+3~4(=15~17). Pelvic fin/spine, soft ray. Lateral line scales/. Gill rakers/10~14
Distribution; Northwest Pacific/South Sea of Korea, southern Japan, Taiwan, East China Sea, northern Philippines. General; The body is small, long, and narrowing towards the tail. Head and body are flattened. The dorsal side of the body is covered with bony plates, each bony plate has two strong spines pointing backwards. The eyes are large and located on the upper side. The space between the eyes quite narrow, and the dorsal edge of the eyes is jagged. The anterior edge of the head is covered with dozens of small spines, and there are many spines on the ventral side of the lower jaw. The mouth is located at the front of the head and is round when viewed from below. The upper jaw protrudes slightly more than the lower jaw. The space between the two eyes is narrow, about 1/4 to 1/5 of the eye diameter. The length of the snout is similar to the diameter of the eyes when young, but becomes longer than the diameter of the eyes when it becomes an adult. Two pairs of nostrils. The 3-4 lower soft rays of the pectoral fin are separated without fin membrane. The left and right gill membranes are joined to the isthmus(the middle part of the chest and throat). The margin of the caudal fin is slightly rounded outward. The anus is located anterior to the center of the body. The dorsal side of the body has 4 dark brown transverse stripes across the body on a light yellow background, and the belly side is white or light yellow. All fins are colorless and transparent, but the 1st dorsal fin has a dark edge. It is similar in appearance to the same genus, Hoplichthys gilberti, but Hoplichthys gilberti is easily distinguished by the presence of unicuspidate(the pointed tip of the tooth is single rather than forked) spines on the bony plates that cover the body surface. It lives on sandy or gravelly bottoms around continental shelves. It is with no food value, and is generally used as trash fish and fishmeal. The ecology is unknown.
|