Long-feathered or winged ( Latin Dactylopteridae ) is a family of marine ray-finned fish from the order of needle - shaped [1] .
| Long feathers |
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| Scientific classification |
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| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
| Suborder : | Longfiniform ( Dactylopteroidei Jordan, 1923 ) |
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| International scientific name |
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Dactylopteridae Rafinesque , 1810 |
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All long-feathers are characterized by a disproportionately large head embedded in a strong bone shell, a heavy body and “double” pectoral fins, consisting, like in sea cocks, of two parts - the upper, which is represented by long rays connected by a normal membrane and the lower, formed several separately sitting thick rays of a finger-shaped form. These fish still have a long, single fin ray on their heads in front of the dorsal fins. Body length does not exceed 30 cm.
These fish live in the coastal zone near the seabed, along which they can move crawling, using the lower free rays of the pectoral fins as limbs. During the breeding season, they rise into the water column, where they lie at the surface with spread wing-shaped fins. Young individuals lead a pelagic lifestyle, not moving far from the coast. Such fry in some areas make up fairly common tuna food.
Long-legged feathers are widespread in all warm seas and are absent only in the eastern Pacific Ocean. They are quite edible and in Japan, for example, are used as food. However, they can not be attributed to commercial fish, as their number is small.
