20 October 2008

Fish or jellyfish? Pomfret mimicks jellyfish

The Chinese pomfret (Pampus chinensis) is among our favourite seafood. Its juveniles are rarely encountered. A recent paper on the Nature in Singapore website shares some insights into this situation.

from "Apparent mimicry of jellyfish by juvenile pomfret, Pampus chinensis (Teleostei: Stromateidae)". H. H. Tan. Pp. 139-142. [PDF, 431 KB]

One juvenile was observed swimming in an erratic manner somewhat like a jellyfish!

There's a video clip of a swimming juvenile pomfret (24.5 MB)

In colouration, juvenile fish also resembles a jellyfish.
Photo from the article.

In addition, when it was caught, the fish produced "copious quantities of clear mucus".

The article also shares other examples of juvenile fishes mimicking poisonous animals.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails