Jointed razorfish

Aeoliscus strigatus

The joined razorfish is an unusual species of fish whose body is covered in thin plates. It swims with its head down and its back facing the direction of travel.

Red List

Data Deficient

The joined razorfish lives close to the seabed, usually in large shoals. It hides amongst corals and between the spines of Sea urchins, hunting for tiny crustaceans in the zooplankton.

Its unusual body shape and swimming habits are particularly striking: its body is encased in a shell of thin, transparent plates. It swims in synchronised groups, with each fish swimming in a vertical position, its snout pointing downwards.

Taxonomy

Centriscidae, genus Aeoliscus (2 species)

Habitat

coral reefs, seagrass beds down to a depth of 20 metres

Behaviour and ecology

lives near the seabed, usually in large schools; tends to swim vertically with its head pointing downwards; hunts and hides amongst corals and also amongst the spines of Sea urchins

Diet

tiny crustaceans and plankton