Tarpon fish Atlantic: features

The fish tarpon - a coveted trophy for every lover of serious fishing. It is very valuable, and not every fisherman succeeds in obtaining it. Let's try to learn more about this ocean inhabitant.

The genus of tarpon

Tarpon - a representative of a monotypic family of fish. Outwardly, they resemble herring, but they are much larger in size. There is no relationship, even very far, between the tarpon and herrings.

There are only 2 species in the genus, into which the tarpon fish is divided:

1. Megalops atlanticus, which means "Atlantic tarpon".
2. Megalops cyprinoides, which in Russian corresponds to the name "Indo-Pacific tarpon".

The word megalops came from the Greek language, its translation means "big eye".

Atlantic tarpon: description

Tarpon Atlantic fish is considered very large. The maximum fixed length of an adult specimen exceeded 250 cm. At the same time, its weight reached 160 kg. Tarpons live about 50 years.

Body in fish elongated and compressed laterally. The ridge consists of 55-57 vertebrae. The covering scales are very large. Tarpon fish has a large head, the size of which can be more than 30% of the total length of the body. Mouth oblique, with a strongly advanced lower jaw. Despite its large size, it is equipped with small villous teeth, which are located on the jaws, on the vomer, and on the top of the palate. The lower jaw is provided with an elongated bone plate, which is necessary for grinding solid pieces.

In the middle part of the back, there is a dorsal fin with a low base. The fin consists of soft rays, the maximum number of which is 15 pieces. The front part of the rays is high, and the last one is low and long. It can touch the caudal peduncle. Anal fin of tarpon of triangular shape with slightly elongated last ray.

The sides and stomach of the fish have a rich silver color. Due to what researchers and fishermen call tarpon the Silver King of the Atlantic. The back and upper part of the head can be dark green or blue. But the color of the body is able to change, reacting to the habitat. It is known that the oldest tarpon lived more than 125 million years ago, but since then its appearance has not changed.

Tarpon fish has a unique structure of the swim bladder. It has a duct in the esophagus, which allows direct air flow when swallowed. Atlantic and Indo-Pacific tarpon - the only fish that can breathe atmospheric air through a swim bladder.

Where is found the Atlantic tarpon

The main place of distribution of Atlantic tarpon - the Atlantic coast along the United States of America. A serious population lives near the coast of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.

There are Atlantic tarponas off the coast of Africa. Single specimens fall to the shores of Portugal and to the coastal waters of the Azores.

The habitat is stretched from Argentina to Cape Cod and Nova Scotia. Occasionally, the Atlantic tarpon is met in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Tarpon prefers the surface layers. The average depth of its habitat is 15 m. Deeper than thirty meters this fish does not descend. Very often you can watch games on the surface and jump out of the water. Since the depths of this ocean inhabitant are not needed, it sometimes enters the bays, into the coastal flooded mouths of rivers with brackish water and even into fresh water.

Reproduction

Sexual maturity occurs at the age of about 7 years. By this time, the size of the female is not less than 110 cm. Spawning takes place throughout the year. The most active tarpon spawns 5 days after the full moon. Fecundity of females is strongly dependent on their size. It is at least 4.5 million eggs, and as much as 20 million eggs.

The incubation period of the eggs does not exceed three days. Further, transparent ribbon-shaped larvae, called leptocephalus, appear. They get the standard appearance of adults after going through 3 stages of development.

Food

Larvae absorb nutrients through the outer cover. Gradually they switch to feeding with zooplankton, and then on insects and invertebrates.

Adult tarpon feed on fish. In their diet, all kinds of mullet, various herring species, spas and catfishes. Also on the menu there are shrimps and crabs.

Features of fishing

Tarpon is not endowed with high taste qualities, but every day thousands of fishermen go out to "ocean hunting", because to get tarpon is a special honor. For the fisherman, it is a great success to declare that the trophy is the Atlantic tarpon. Photos of such fishing are presented in the article.

The first difficulty in catching is the large size of the prey. To pull out such a giant is very difficult. The second difficulty - a steep temper, the fish struggles with the fisherman to the last, beats and tries to break from the tackle.

Since tarpon is a living fossil and scientists are concerned about its preservation, fishermen often engage in sports fishing, after finishing photographing their trophies and releasing them to the ocean. In America, unsportsmanly fishing is allowed under a special license, but even so, you can get no more than two pieces.

In the ocean fishing comes from a boat, a fisherman armed with spinning, trolling or fly fishing tackle. Sometimes the tarpon fish is a river or lake prey, as it enters fresh water. It was in such conditions that a world record was fixed.

World record

The world record in catching tarpon was put by Mr. Salasar in 1956. The fisherman had to show miracles of strength and agility. The tarpon caught by it is the largest (the photo simply amazes in size). The trophy is caught in Venezuela, in the waters of Lake Maracaibo. The production weight exceeded 128 kg.