Elephant trunk fish
Elephant nose fish, also known as stork-billed long-jawed fish, weevilfish. Native to the Congo of Africa. It is 20-50 cm long and has a strange shape, like a multi-purpose knife. The jaw is elongated like a small tube, which can move and is used to explore food, so it is called the weevil fish. Adults are fierce in temperament and fight with each other. It is necessary to use large aquariums to raise, the ambient light should be darker, and small stone strips, sunken wood, water plants, etc. should be used to isolate the role, which can reduce contradictions and struggles. It can be polycultured with other fish. It is a nocturnal fish that also feeds during the day, is more active at night, and can jump out of the water.
Chinese scientific name: Weevil fish
Realm: Animal kingdom
Phylum: Chordata phylum Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrate subphylum Vertebrata
Origin: Native to Congo, Africa
Genus: It is a nocturnal fish
Areas: Life Sciences
Brief introduction
Even if you don't know much about fish, you can easily recognize the weevil fish when you walk into a tropical fish store. This guy is light black, looks like an Arabian machete from a distance, the tail looks like a knife handle, the body looks like a blade, and it is named the weevil fish because of its long "nose". Of course, this is not its nose, but the long snout formed by the extension of its jaw. However, the function is somewhat similar to that of an elephant's nose, which is used to find and catch food.
The deep sea was pitch black, and an elephant trunk fish was swimming slowly. Only to see it hook its head downwards, clinging to the bottom of the sea, sweeping the mud and sand with its trunk-like chin, it turned out that this guy was looking for food. Strangely, it was dark and mushy all around, how did it see things? In fact, it doesn't look at things with your eyes, you see the world through your chin, and the whole process is very wonderful.
In the tail of the weevil, there is a special spindle-shaped organ that can continuously emit electrical veins. In the process of finding food, these electrical veins act like light bulbs and can illuminate the surrounding seawater. If an object is encountered, the signal in the electrical pulse j changes. At this time, an organ on the weevil's chin begins to work, equivalent to a sensor, which can sensitively capture changes in electrical impulses. Because different objects cause different changes in the electrical vein j, through the changes in the electrical vein j, the weevil fish can quickly find their favorite food.
Elephant trunk fish like to be active at night, always burrowing their heads into the mud in search of food. However, such foraging can easily stir up the silt and muddy the water. Think about its living environment, nighttime, muddy waters, silt, in case of encountering the enemy, how dangerous its situation will be! However, we don't have to worry, nature has long designed a perfect "bio-radar system" for it.
The working principle of this system is not complicated, and it has the same place as the electronic radar we use. But as an animal, the weevil does not emit electromagnetic waves, but it can emit electrical veins j. In this way, around its body, a stable weak electric field is formed. When it swims, it does not swing its body, so it does not disturb the electric field at all. If a big fish or an enemy appears, the electric field around the elephant trunk fish's body will be disturbed, so the extremely sensitive sensors on its body immediately warn: the enemy is coming, run away! Of course, this radar is the result of natural evolution .
Morphological characteristics
The body is elongated and flattened laterally. The snout of the head is steeply elongated downwards and is tubular, the upper jaw and mouth are truncated, and the lower jaw protrudes downwards, taking the shape of a sarcoma. The mouth is small. The eyes are small and superior lateral. The anterior margin of the dorsal fin is straight on the back, the ventral margin is shallowly curved, and the caudal stalk is slender and rod-shaped. The body is scaled. The posterior position of the dorsal fin, opposite the fin, is homomorphic. The caudal fin is forked. The body is brownish grey with two nearly diamond-shaped gray-white or yellowish bands on the body side between the dorsal fin and the fin, and the trailing edge of the caudal fin is white. Maximum body length 40 cm .
The snout of the head is pointed, the eyes are small, and the mouth is small. The back of the head is straight with the chest and abdomen. The pectoral fin is long and the ventral fin is short. The posterior position of the dorsal fin is symmetrical to the fin and is similar in shape. The tail handle suddenly became as long as a rod. The caudal fin is deeply shaped. It is black all over, but has faint white streaks on the edges of the dorsal and fins and the bodies between them. The caudal fin is forked and has a faint white edge. There are many kinds of weevil fish, different species in terms of body shape, head shape, mouth shape and tail stalk length and other aspects, the color and stripes are also different, but its tube-like "long nose", people can confirm that it is a weevil fish at a glance. Elephant trunk fish with a short body and a short nose are particularly cute. This is a rare fish special to Africa. The cerebellum of the weevil is more developed, and the jaw is covered with nerve endings that can sense and distinguish food; the tail muscles have evolved to emit weak electric currents for self-defense. Weevils like neutral, weakly acidic soft water, suitable water temperature of 22-28 ° C, love to eat small live bait such as nematodes in the sand.
distribution
It is found in the Congo River Basin in Africa. It inhabits the bottom of the water and feeds on small benthic invertebrates, and the body can emit a weak pulse of electricity to detect prey.
habit
This fish is a delicious edible fish endemic to West Central Africa. Due to its peculiar shape, it has become an aquarium ornamental variety. The suitable water temperature is 22~28 °C, weak acidic to neutral water. The aquarium is equipped with enough hidden space and plants. Feed red worms, water fleas, sword water fleas and shrimp.