David Lehrian
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Aulorhynchus flavidus Gill, 1861
Aulorhynchus is a monospecific genus in the family Aulorhynchidae. The only species is the tubemouth Aulorhynchus flavidus, which occurs off the west coast of North America.
Aulorhynchus was first proposed as a genus in 1861 by the American zoologist Theodore Gill when he described Aulorhynchus flavidus and assigned it to a new monotypic genus. The type locality given is the coast of Washington. Aulorhynchus, the genus name, is a combination of Aulos, meaning "flute," and Rhynchus, meaning "mouth," a reference to the flexible tubular mouth of this species. The specific name "flavidus" means "yellowish."
This species reaches a total length of 18 cm and is physically similar to sticklebacks, but has a thinner, longer body with 24 to 27 small spines in front of the dorsal fin. In addition, like sticklebacks, it produces a sticky secretion during reproduction. While sticklebacks use this secretion to glue plant material together to form a nest, tubemouths simply attach their eggs to a substrate, specifically the seaweed Macrocystis pyrifera. Spawning occurs all year round. The males guard the spawn and actively defend it from predators. “Spawning nests” can be found at depths of 10–20 m, but have also been detected up to 38 m deep.
The tubemouth feeds on small invertebrates and fish larvae. The food spectrum includes small planktonic crustaceans such as amphipods, mysids and crab larvae.
The species inhabits rock crevices, seaweed meadows, seagrass and areas with sandy bottom substrate from the intertidal zone up to 38m depth.
These fish are kept in public aquariums.
Synonymised names:
Auliscops spinescens Peters, 1866 · unaccepted
Aulorhynchus is a monospecific genus in the family Aulorhynchidae. The only species is the tubemouth Aulorhynchus flavidus, which occurs off the west coast of North America.
Aulorhynchus was first proposed as a genus in 1861 by the American zoologist Theodore Gill when he described Aulorhynchus flavidus and assigned it to a new monotypic genus. The type locality given is the coast of Washington. Aulorhynchus, the genus name, is a combination of Aulos, meaning "flute," and Rhynchus, meaning "mouth," a reference to the flexible tubular mouth of this species. The specific name "flavidus" means "yellowish."
This species reaches a total length of 18 cm and is physically similar to sticklebacks, but has a thinner, longer body with 24 to 27 small spines in front of the dorsal fin. In addition, like sticklebacks, it produces a sticky secretion during reproduction. While sticklebacks use this secretion to glue plant material together to form a nest, tubemouths simply attach their eggs to a substrate, specifically the seaweed Macrocystis pyrifera. Spawning occurs all year round. The males guard the spawn and actively defend it from predators. “Spawning nests” can be found at depths of 10–20 m, but have also been detected up to 38 m deep.
The tubemouth feeds on small invertebrates and fish larvae. The food spectrum includes small planktonic crustaceans such as amphipods, mysids and crab larvae.
The species inhabits rock crevices, seaweed meadows, seagrass and areas with sandy bottom substrate from the intertidal zone up to 38m depth.
These fish are kept in public aquariums.
Synonymised names:
Auliscops spinescens Peters, 1866 · unaccepted
