West African ladyfish

West African ladyfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Elopiformes
Family: Elopidae
Genus: Elops
Species: E. lacerta
Binomial name
Elops lacerta
Valenciennes, 1847

The West African ladyfish, Elops lacerta, is a species of fish in the Elopidae family. It is native to the coastal waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from Senegal to Angola. It is also known as the Guinean ladyfish. Some have been known to grow to 20 lb.[1]

Threats

This species uses estuarine areas and hypersaline lagoons; changes in the quality of these habitats may affect this species' population dynamics. Although this species may not be closely associated with any single habitat, it may be adversely affected by development and urbanization. [2]

References

  1. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2006). "Elops lacerta" in FishBase. 05 2006 version.
  2. Adams, A. J., Horodysky, A. Z., McBride, R. S., Guindon, K., Shenker, J., MacDonald, T. C., Harwell, H. D., Ward, R., and Carpenter, K. Global conservation status and research needs for tarpons (Megalopidae), ladyfishes (Elopidae) and bonefishes (Albulidae). Fish and Fisheries (online, early view as of 2013). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/faf.12017/abstract


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