Dactylopterus volitans  (Linnaeus, 1758)

Flying gurnard
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Dactylopterus volitans   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Dactylopterus volitans (Flying gurnard)
Dactylopterus volitans
Picture by Patzner, R.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Scorpaeniformes (Scorpionfishes and flatheads) > Dactylopteridae (Flying gurnards)
Etymology: Dactylopterus: Greek, daktyleys, -eos = a kind of grey mullet + + Greek, pteron = fin (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; brackish; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 100 m (Ref. 26999).   Subtropical; 52°N - 45°S, 98°W - 36°E

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 6544); common length : 38.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3397); max. published weight: 1.8 kg (Ref. 4699)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 6. Pectoral fin very large and fan-like, with front 6 rays separated as small lobe (Ref. 26938).

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: English Channel to Angola, including the Mediterranean, Madeira, and the Azores. Western Atlantic: Canada (Ref. 5951) to Massachusetts, USA and the Gulf of Mexico to Argentina.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found on sand, mud or over rocks in sandy areas, exploring the bottom with the free part of the pectoral fins (Ref. 6544). Feeds primarily on benthic crustaceans, especially crabs, clams and small fishes. Neither anterolateral glandural groove nor venom gland is present (Ref. 57406).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Eschmeyer, W.N. and L.J. Dempster, 1990. Dactylopteridae. p. 690-691. In J. C. Quero, J. C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post, and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)

  Not Evaluated 

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial
FAO(fisheries: production; publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | Public aquariums | PubMed | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on empirical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 1.0078   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01230 (-0.06523 - 0.08983), b=2.93 (2.88 - 2.98), based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  3.6   ±0.6 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (31 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.