Pearlfish

 ( Parasitic Vertebrates ) 

Pearlfish are marine fish in the Actinopterygii family Carapidae. Pearlfishes inhabit the Tropics waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and at depths to , along oceanic shelves and slopes. They are slender, elongated fish with no scales, translucent bodies, and dorsal fin rays which are shorter than their anal fin rays. Adults of most species live Symbiosis inside various invertebrate hosts, and some live Parasitism inside . The are free living.

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Characteristics Pearlfishes are slender, distinguished by having dorsal fin rays that are shorter than their anal fin rays. They have translucent, scaleless bodies reminiscent of . The largest pearlfish are about in length. They reproduce by laying oval-shaped eggs, about 1 mm in length.

Nielsen, Jørgen G. (1998). 9780125476652, Academic Press. ISBN 9780125476652

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Ecology Pearlfishes are unusual in that the adults of most species live inside various types of . They typically live inside , Holothuroidea, starfish, or , and are simply commensal, not harming their hosts. However, some species are known to be parasitic towards sea cucumbers, eating their and other internal organs. Pearlfish usually live alone, or in pairs. The fish that lives in a sea cucumber anus, Australian Geographic, 8 August 2014

Regardless of the habits of the adults, the of pearlfish are free-living among the plankton. Pearlfish larvae can be distinguished by the presence of a long filament in front of their , sometimes with various appendages attached.

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Genera The Genus are divided into three major groupings based on their level of symbiosis:

• Echiodon and Snyderidia - free-living
• Carapus and Onuxodon - commensal
• Encheliophis - parasitic, fish in this group live in invertebrate hosts found in shallow-water coral communities such as bivalves, sea cucumbers, and starfish.

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