Author: (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synodus synodus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Diagnosis: head long, contained 3 1/2-4 times in SL; upper surface moderately rugose. Inter-orbital space narrow, 7 1/2-
8 1/2 times in head length. Eye large, diameter 4 1/2-6 times in head length. Snout length equal to or greater than eye diameter. 4 1/2-6 1/2 scales between lateral line and middle of dorsal fin base. Anal fin base 1 1/3-1 3/5 times longer than dorsal fin base. Pectoral fin extending to or slightly beyond level of dorsal fin insertion. Dorsal finrays 12-14; anal finrays 8-10; pelvic finrays 8; pectoral finrays 11-13, lateral line scales 54-59. Colour: four dark saddles dorsally between dorsal origin and caudal fin base; a black spot on the upper surface of the tip of the snout. Size: to c. 30 cm.

Habitat: primarily found in shallow inshore waters; maximum depth 50 m; demersal. Food: no data. Reproduction: post-larval stage has been figured (Anderson et al., 1966; Gibbs, 1959; Norman, 1935). Commercial importance: reportedly good to eat, but little utilized (Melliss, 1875).

Distribution: in the western Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Antilles to Uruguay; in the eastern Atlantic, from off the Canaries and Madeira.

Eggs, larvae and young stages. Mead, 1966, fig. 11.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Superclass Gnathostomata
Class Osteichthyes
Order Scopeliformes
Suborder Myctophoidei
Family Synodontidae
Genus Synodus
Species Synodus synodus

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Synodus synodus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Scientific synonyms and common names

Synodus synodus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms:

Esox synodus Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. X, 1: 313 ('Habitat in America').
Synodus synodus: Bloch & Schneider, 1801: 396 Cuvier, 1817: 169 Tåning, 1918: 4 Fowler, 1936: 344, 12-19 Maul, 1948: 142 Cadenat, 1950: 153, fig. 52 Mead, 1966: 78-84, fig. 27-28 (numerous references).
Synodus fasciatus Lacepède, 1803, Hist. nat. Poiss., 5: 319.
Saurus synodus Valenciennes, 1849, in Cuv. Val., Hist. nat. Poiss., 22: 477.
Saurus atlanticus Johnson, 1863, Proc. zool. Soc. Lond.: 41 (Madeira). Holotype: BMNH.
Saurus meleagrides Valenciennes, 1847
Synodus gracilis (nec Quoy and Gaimard) Metzelaar, 1919
Synodus nicholsi Breder, 1927


Common names:

red lizard fish [En]
lagarto [Es]

*Lacepède, B. 1798-1803. Histoire naturelle des Poissons, 5 vol. in-4, Paris. I: 1798, 8+cxlvii+532 pp., 25 pl., 1 tabl. (inset); II: 1800, Ixiv+632 pp., 20 pl.; III: 1801, 558 pp., 34 pl.; IV: 1802, xliv+728 pp., 16 pl.; V: 1803, xlviii+803 pp., 21 pl.

Bloch, M. E.; Schneider, J. G. 1801. M. E. Blochii Systema Ichthyologiae iconibus cx illustratum. Post obitum auctoris opus inchoatum absolvit, correxit, interpolavit J. G. Schneider, Saxo. Berolini: Ix+584 pp., 110 pl.

Breder, C. M. 1927. Scientific results of the first oceanographic expedition of the 'Pawnee', 1925. Fishes. Bull Bingham oceanogr. Coll, 1(1) :1-90, 36 fig.

Cadenat, J. 1951. Poissons de mer du Sénégal, Initiations africaines, III, Inst. fr. Afr. noire, Dakar, 1950 [1951]: 345 pp., 241 fig.

Cuvier, G. 1817b. Le règne animal distribué d'après son organisation, pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction à l'anatomie comparée, 4 vol. Paris. Poissons, 2: 104-351.

Cuvier, G.; Valenciennes, A. 1828-1849. Histoire naturelle des Poissons, Paris-Strasbourg, 22 vol., 11030 pp., 621 pl. (numb. 1-650).1,1828: xvi+573 pp., pl. I-VIII [author: Cuvier]; 2, 1828: xxi+490 pp., pl. 9-40 [Cuv.: pp. 1-238, pp. 249-262, pp. 387-490; Val.: pp. 238-249, pp. 262-386]; 3 April 1829: xxiii+500 pp., pl. 41-71 [Cuvier]; 4, 1829: xxvi+518 pp., pl. 72-99 [Cuvier]; 5, 1830: xxviii+499 pp., pl. 100-140 [Cuvier]; 6, 1830: xxiv+pp.559 pp., pl. 141-169 [Val.: pp. 1-425, 493-559; Cuv.: 426-491]; 7, 1831: xxix + 531 pp., pl. 170-208 [Cuv.: 1-440; Val.: pp. 441-531]; 8, 1832: xix+509 pp., pl. 209-245 [Cuv.: pp. 1-470; Val.: pp. 471-509]; 9, 1833: xxix+512 pp., pl. 246-279 [Cuv.: pp. 1-198, pp. 330-359, pp. 372-427; Val.: pp. 199-329, pp. 359-371, pp. 429-512]; 10, 1835: xxiv+482 pp., pl. 280-306 [Val.]; 11, 1836: xx+506 pp., pl. 307-343 [Val.]; 12, 1837: xxix+507 pp., pl. 344-368 [Val.]; 13, 1839: xix+505 pp., pl. 369-388 [Val.]; 14, 1840: xxii+464 pp., pl. 389-420 [Val.]; 15, 1840: xxi + 540 pp., pl. 421-455 [Val.]; 16, 1842: xx+472 pp., pl. 456-487 [Val.]; 17, 1844: xxiii+497 pp., pl. 487-519 [Val.]; 18, 1846: xix+505 pp., pl. 520-553 [Val.]; 19, 1847: xix+544 pp., pl. 554-590 [Val.]; 20, 1847: xviii+472 pp., pl. 591-606 [Val.]; 21, 1848: xiv+536 pp., pl. 607-633 [Val.]; 22, 1849: xx+532 pp., pl. 634-650 [Val.].

Fowler, H. W. 1936. The Marine Fishes of West Africa, based on the collection of the American Museum Congo Expedition 1909-1915. Bull. am. Mus. nat. Hist., 70 (1), Jan. 21, 1936: pp. vii+1-606, fig. 1-275; (2), Nov. 18, 1936: pp. 607-1493, fig. 276-567.

Johnson, J. Y. 1863b. Descriptions of five new species of fishes obtained at Madeira. Proc. zool. Soc. Lond., 33: 36-46, pl. VII.

Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae, ed. X, vol. 1, 824 pp. Nantes & Pisces: pp. 230-338. (Reprint, 1956, London.)

Maul, G. E. 1948b. Lista sistemática dos peixes assinalados nos mares de Madeira e indice alfabetico. In: A. C. de Noronha & A. A. Sarmento, Vertebrados da Madeira, 2e ed., 2, Peixes: 135-181 (also sep., 1949).

Mead, G. W. Ed. 1966. Order Iniomi. In Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Mem. Sears Found. Mar. Res., 1(5): 1-602, fig. 1-218.

Metzelaar, J. 1919a. Report on the Fishes collected by Dr. J. Boeke in the Dutch West Indies, 1904-1905, with comparative notes on marine fishes of Tropical West Africa. In: J. Boeke, Rapport . . . Kolonie Curaçao: 1-315, 64 fig.

Metzelaar, J. 1919b. Over tropisch Atlantische visschen, Kruyt, Amsterdam, 317 p. [dutch ed. of 1919a].

Tåning, Å. V. 1918. Mediterranean Scopelidae. Rep. Dan. oceanogr. Exped. Mediterr., 1908-1910, 2 (Biol.), (A. 7): pp. 1-154, 49 fig.

Valenciennes, A. 1847. In: A. D. d'Orbigny, Voyage dans l'Amérique Méridionale. Poissons, Paris, 5 pl.

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