150 Fishes to Celebrate 150 Years
This list is still in progress and being added to weekly. Check back again soon!
150 Fishes to Celebrate 150 Years
In 2020, the American Fisheries Society will celebrate its 150th Anniversary. As part of the celebration, the Society will be calling attention to 150 fishes. We solicited nominations of fishes for the list by the Society’s membership.
The 150 Fishes list is a celebration of the biodiversity of freshwater and marine fishes of North America. These fishes will help tell the story of fish and fisheries of the continent. They may illustrate unique life histories, beauty, conservation issues, and challenges of managing and conserving these animals and their habitats. These fishes represent our native biodiversity, but also illustrates how invasives and our own human nature have had impacts on our aquatic resources. Hence, this list will primarily focus on native species but may include non-natives when they tell a compelling fisheries story. From the stories of these fishes, the Society and the public can learn to better appreciate these amazing natural resources and be challenged to ensure that future generations will be able to experience these fishes in their native settings.
Nomination Process
Fish nominations are now closed.
Circulation Process
The 150 Fishes list will reside at the 150th Anniversary Website, information about individual fish from the list will be circulated through various social media platforms throughout the year.
This list is meant to be a fun for members and informative for the public. It is unlikely we will be able to include all nominations. We acknowledge that every fish has a story. There may be opportunities to discuss all the nominated fishes in the future.
FULL LIST OF NOMINATED FISH
| Catchy Title | It’s a gorgonian, it’s a sea whip, no, it’s a trumpetfish! |
|---|---|
| Common Name of Fish | Atlantic trumpetfish |
| Scientific Name of Fish | Aulostomus maculatus |
| Image of Fish |  |
| Description of Why This Fish Is Important/Interesting | Many organisms in nature use mimicry or camouflage to hunt. The Atlantic trumpetfish is good at both. This Caribbean reef fish is long and narrow, so it doesn’t have a typical fish outline. The most common color phase is mottled reddish brown. Its body shape and coloration allow the trumpetfish to look like something else. The trumpetfish suspends itself vertically, head down, just above a reef. It waits motionless for smaller fishes, which might mistake the trumpetfish for a gorgonian, sea whip, or other benign organism. But venture too close and this ambush predator strikes, using suctorial feeding to draw prey in. Like its cousins, seahorses and pipefish, the Atlantic trumpetfish has an elongate head and snout. This head shape allows the trumpetfish to suck in prey like a milkshake through a straw. Less common color patterns include yellow and blue phases, but those individuals must find something other than gorgonians or sea whips to mimic. |
| Website or Journal Article for More Information | https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/aulostomus-maculatus/ Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXVh197uNZE |
| Your Name | Steve Lochmann |