Elops saurus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Elops saurus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Elopiformes |
| Family: | Elopidae |
| Genus: | Elops |
| Species: | E. saurus |
| Binomial name | |
| Elops saurus Linnaeus, 1766 | |
| Synonyms[2][3] | |
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The ladyfish or tenpounder (Elops saurus) is a species of fish in the genus Elops, the only genus in the monotypic family Elopidae.
Like other species in its genus, the ladyfish has a long, slender, rounded body covered with silvery scales. Its mouth is terminal and the tail is deeply forked. The species can be distinguished by counting the number of gill rakers and vertebrae.[4]
Distribution
The ladyfish is distributed in the western North Atlantic Ocean from New England to Florida, and the Gulf of Mexico.[4] Its distribution overlaps with the malacho (Elops smithi) in the southeast US and the southern Gulf of Mexico.[5]
