Smilosicyopus leprurus (Teleostei: Gobiidae) is a Fin-eater.

ABSTRACT: Ying-Tzu Lu, Min-Yun Liu, You He, and Te-Yu Liao (2016) Smilosicyopus leprurus is a small goby distributed in the Ishigaki Island and Taiwan. Hobbyists found S. leprurus attacked on the caudal fin of fishes kept together. In this study we investigate whether this fin-eating behavior occurs in the field and whether S. leprurus can be considered a fin-eater. Behavior observation in a tank showed S. leprurus snapped off a piece of fins and swallowed. Among S. leprurus preserved immediately after capture, a fin fragment and a few scales were recovered in the gut of a specimen and DNA barcoding shows the fin fragment belonging to Sicyopterus japonicas. The fin-eating behavior of S. leprurus occurs in captivity and in the wild. In addition, the 3D renderings of oral jaws of S. leprurus were prov

SUBMITTER: Lu YT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6511814 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature