Weever

This article is about weeverfish. For other uses, see Weever (disambiguation).

Weevers
Lesser weever, Echiichthys vipera
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Trachiniformes
Family: Trachinidae
Rafinesque, 1815[1]
Genera

Trachinus
Echiichtys
See text for species.

Lesser weever fish, caught from the beach at Prestatyn, North Wales. Note the highly distinctive venomous dorsal spines (separated by almost black skin) and dark-tipped tail.

Weevers (or weeverfish) are nine extant species of fishes of family Trachinidae, order Trachiniformes, part of the Percomorpha clade. They are long (up to 37 cm), mainly brown in color, and have venomous spines on their first dorsal fin and gills. During the day, weevers bury themselves in sand, just showing their eyes, and snatch prey as it comes past, which consists of shrimp and small fish.

Weevers are unusual in not having swim bladders, as have most bony fish, and as a result sink as soon as they stop actively swimming. With the exception of T. cornutus from the southeast Pacific, all species in this family are restricted to the eastern Atlantic (including the Mediterranean). An extinct relative, Callipteryx, is known from the Monte Bolca lagerstätte of the Lutetian epoch.[2][3]

Weevers are sometimes used as an ingredient in the recipe for bouillabaisse.[4]

Weevers are sometimes erroneously called 'weaver fish', although the word is unrelated. In fact the word 'weever' is believed to derive from the Old French word wivre, meaning serpent or dragon, from the Latin vipera.[5] It is sometimes also known as the viperfish, although it is not related to the viperfish proper (i.e. the stomiids of the genus Chauliodus).

In Australia sand perches of the family Mugilidae are also known as weevers.

In Portugal the weever is known as peixe-aranha, which translates to 'spider-fish', and in Catalan as aranya, which is identical to the word for 'spider'.

  1. ^ Bailly N, ed. (2017). "Trachinidae Rafinesque, 1815". FishBase. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  2. ^ Frickhinger, Karl Albert (March 1996). Fossil Atlas, Fishes. Tetra Print. pp. 882. ISBN 978-1564651150.
  3. ^ Carnevale, G.; Bannikov, Alexandre F.; Marramà, G.; Tyler, James C.; Zorzin., R. (2014). "The Bolca Fossil-Lagerstätte: A window into the Eocene World. 5. The Pesciara- Monte Postale Fossil-Lagerstätte: 2. Fishes and other vertebrates. Excursion guide" (PDF). Rendiconti della Società Paleontologica Italiana. 4 (1): i–xxvii. hdl:10088/25678.
  4. ^ Jean-Louis André, Cuisines des pays de France, Éditions du Chêne, 2001
  5. ^ "The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition". Yourdictionary.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.