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Pearl fish (Carapus acus)
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Pearl fish (Carapus acus) specimen
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Carapidae

Pearl fish

Carapus acus

Emerges night enters host

  • Tropical
  • Regional distribution
  • Marine fish
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Anguilliform
  • Compressed cross-section
  • Medium
  • Tropical fish

Carapus acus is a species of bony fish in the family Carapidae, the pearlfishes, and is native to the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It lives as a commensal in association with a sea cucumber, spending the day inside its host and emerging at night to feed.

Family
Carapidae
Genus
Carapus
Maximum length
20.8 cm
Water
Marine
Body shape
anguilliform
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: including the Mediterranean. Probably south to Ascension Island.
Conservation status
LCLeast Concern

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