Ribbonfish-like critter??? Have you seen these on the reefs before?

[ricki]

Here is a post from scubaboard in response to my inquiry:

Originally Posted by ft.lauderdale diver

Very timely post.. I was on the Mary St. Philipps wreck off Pompano last week and coming up on the anchor at about 30-40 ft I saw the same type of fish posted above. I was going to post a description but the pictures are worth a 1000 words! I thought it was a mutant needlefish! Maybe they are here to start attacking the lionfish. which are growing ever too quickly in numbers..

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/flo...ish-reefs.html

[ricki]

Looks like this is called a cutless fish, Trichiurus lepturus thanks to some input from SFDH. It has been documented to occur here or at least in Port Everglades at certain times of the year. What is less clear is why more of us apparently haven't seen these on the reefs over the years. http://femar.rsmas.miami.edu/Members...utlassfish.pdf

[ricki]

I have learned from a fisheries biologist that cutless fish primarily live in brackish water in our area and don't frequent reef areas. He theorized that the major release of water during the Tropical Storm Isaac event displaced the fish offshore to find more saline conditions. He had even found cutless fish in the gut contents of grouper from the reefs. As such it would appear their presence out there is temporary.