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Encyclopedia > Pilot fish
Pilot Fish

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Carangidae
Genus: Naucrates
Rafinesque, 1810
Species: N. ductor
Binomial name
Naucrates ductor
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The pilot fish (Naucrates ductor) is a carnivorous fish that is a horse mackerel and belongs to the Carangidae family of fishes. It is widely distributed and lives in warm or tropical open seas. Image File history File links Naucrates_ductor. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families many, see text The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, include about 40% of all fish and are the largest order of vertebrates. ... A family of fishes which includes the Pompanos and Jacks Pilot fish - Naucrates ductor Categories: Fish stubs ... C. S. Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (October 22, 1783-September 18, 1840) was a nineteenth-century polymath who led a chaotic life. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Carl Linnaeus, Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[2] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... 1758 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... This article deals with meat-eating animals. ... Horse mackerel is the popular name of various large fishes, such as the tuna, and the scad or saurel of the Pacific coast. ... A family of fishes which includes the Pompanos and Jacks Pilot fish - Naucrates ductor Categories: Fish stubs ...

Contents

Taxonomy

A school of pilot fish accompanying an oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus.
A school of pilot fish accompanying an oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus.

The pilot fish follows sharks, rays, and sea turtles, where it feeds on ectoparasites on and leftovers around the host species.[1] They are also known to follow ships huge distances; one was found in Cork, Ireland,[2] and many a pilot fish has been sighted on the shores of England.[3] Its relationship with sharks is a mutualist one; the pilot fish gains protection from predators, while the shark gains freedom from parasites.[4] Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1536x1024, 194 KB) Beschreibung Carcharhinus longimanus, ca. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1536x1024, 194 KB) Beschreibung Carcharhinus longimanus, ca. ... Binomial name (Poey, 1861) Range of oceanic whitetip shark Synonyms Squalus maou, Lesson 1822-1825 Squalus longimanus, Poey 1861 Pterolamiops longimanus Carcharhinus obtusus, Garman 1881 Carcharhinus insularum, Snyder 1904 Pterolamiops magnipinnis, Smith 1958 Pterolamiops budkeri, Fourmanoir 1961 The oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus, is a large pelagic shark of tropical... Orders Carcharhiniformes Heterodontiformes Hexanchiformes Lamniformes Orectolobiformes Pristiophoriformes Squaliformes Squatiniformes Symmoriida(extinct) Sharks (superorder Selachimorpha) are fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton[1] and a streamlined body. ... Orders Rajiformes - common rays and skates Pristiformes - sawfishes Torpediniformes - electric rays See text for families. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... A parasite is an organism that lives in or on the living tissue of a host organism at the expense of that host. ... For online phenomenon of shipping, see Shipping (fandom). ... For other uses of Cork, see Cork (disambiguation). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total 130... Mutualism is an economic theory based on a labor theory of value that advocates that equal amounts of labor should receive equal pay. ...


It was oft said by sailors that sharks and pilot fish share something akin to a "close companionship";[5] there were even tales of this fish following ships which had captured "their" shark for up to six weeks[6] and showing signs of distress in its absence.[7] Whatever the veracity of such reports, it is extremely rare that a shark will feed on a pilot fish, and smaller pilot fish are frequently observed swimming into sharks' mouths to clean away fragments of food from between their teeth. As Herman Melville, in a work considered one of his finest,[8] put it, Three types of mariners are seen here in the wheelhouse: a master, an able seaman, and a harbour pilot. ... Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. ...

They have nothing of harm to dread,
But liquidly glide on his ghastly flank
Or before his Gorgonian head;
Or lurk in the port of serrated teeth
In white triple tiers of glittering gates,
And there find a haven when peril 's abroad,
An asylum in jaws of the Fates![9]

The pilot fish has distinctive black and white markings; this observation has led to similar markings being used in decals supplied as shark protection for surfboards.[10] Look up Decal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... // A surfer carries a surfboard along the beach. ...


Etymology and metaphors

There are two, possibly conflicting, etymologies for the term "pilot fish". One is that sea-faring people believed that pilot fish, which would appear around the bow of their ships when they were close to land, were leading (or piloting) them back to port.[11] An alternative etymology is that pilot fish were thought to be piloting sharks to food.[12][13] Etymology is the study of the origins of words. ... The bow is the foremost point of the hull of a ship or boat: the point that is ahead when the vessel is underway. ...


In this latter sense, the pilot fish is sometimes used as a metaphor or simile; "they are like the pilot fish to the shark, serving to lead him to his victim".[14] In a vaguely similar vein, Ernest Hemingway uses the term "pilot fish" in his memoirs (A Moveable Feast) to refer to the scouts that rich people send out to check on artists to see if they're the next big thing. Look up metaphor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A simile is a comparison of two unlike things, typically marked by use of like, as or than. Examples may include the snow was as thick as a blanket, or she was as smart as a crow. // Similes are widely used in literature, both modern and ancient. ... Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. ... A Moveable Feast is also the title of a live album by Fairport Convention A Moveable Feast is a set of memoirs by American author Ernest Hemingway. ...


In popular culture

  • The Shark Tank column of Computerworld magazine uses the term "pilot fish" metaphorically to describe computer consultants and other "techies" swimming with the sharks of corporate IT departments.
  • The megalomaniacal, super-intelligent villain of the Danish film Help! I'm a Fish is a pilot fish.

Computerworld is an IT magazine that provides information to technology managers. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Technology. ... Information and communication technology spending in 2005 Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), is the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware. ... Help! Im a Fish (Danish: ) is a Danish animated feature film originally released in Scandinavia in late 2000, and produced by Denmarks well-renowned A-Film studios. ...

References

  1. ^ McEachran, John D.; Fechhelm, Janice D. (1998). Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. University of Texas Press, p. 287. ISBN 0292706340. 
  2. ^ Thompson, William (1856). The Natural History of Ireland. Reeve, Benham and Reeve, p. 95. 
  3. ^ Couch, Jonathan (1863). A History of the Fishes of the British Islands. Groombridge & Sons, p. 109. 
  4. ^ Webster, Stephen (2003). Thinking about Biology. Cambridge University Press, p. 24. ISBN 0521590590. 
  5. ^ Couch 1863, p. 110-111.
  6. ^ Murray, Hugh; Wilson, James; Greville, R. K.; Jameson, Robert; Ainslie, Whitelaw; Rhind, William; Wallace, Prof.; Dalrymble, Clarence (1832). Historical and Descriptive Account of British India, from the Most Remote Period to the Present Time. J. & J. Harper, p. 337. 
  7. ^ Schomburgk, Robert Hermann (1848). History of Barbados: Comprising a Geographical and Statistical Description of the Island, p. 669. 
  8. ^ Turco, Lewis (1986). Visions and Revisions of American Poetry. University of Arkansas Press, p. 65. ISBN 0938626507. “"The Maldive Shark" is as close to perfection as Melville ever came in his verse poetry.” 
  9. ^ The Maldive Shark, in Melville, Herman (1888). John Marr and Other Sailors. The De Vinne Press, 90. 
  10. ^ Hurley, Timothy. "Company sold out of anti-shark device", The Honolulu Advertiser, 2003-11-06. Retrieved on 2007-07-26. “Sharkcamo sells rash guards and decals for surfboards and bodyboards that have zebralike stripes that mimic the pattern of certain fish — poisonous fish, cleaner fish, pilot fish and remoras — that sharks do not choose as prey.”  See also the Shark Camo website.
  11. ^ "Pilot Fish". The London Encyclopædia, or, Universal Dictionary of Science, Art, Literature, and Practical Mechanics XVII. (1839). “Seafaring people observe that this fish frequently accompanies their vessels; and, as they see it generally towards the fore part of the ship, they imagined that it was guiding and tracing out the course of the vessel, and hence it received the name of pilot-fish.” 
  12. ^ Andrews, Roy Chapman (1940). This Amazing Planet. G.P. Putnam's Sons, p. 88. 
  13. ^ Stedman, John Gabriel (1813). Narrative of a Five Years' Expedition against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam in Guiana on the Wild Coast of South America from the Years 1772-1777, p. 400. “The pilot-fish ought here also to be noticed: this [...] is said not only to feed upon the gills of the shark, but to direct it to its prey, from which singularity originates its name.” 
  14. ^ Watt, G. D. (1855), Journal of Discourses by Brigham Young, vol. II, F. D. Richards, at p. 188
  • Naucrates ductor (TSN 168742). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on June 24, 2005.
  • "Naucrates ductor". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. May 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.
  • Britannica Online: Pilot fish
  • NOAA Library Image: http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/historic/nmfs/figb0368.htm

Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 207th day of the year (208th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Please note that the ITIS system URL has changed (25 September 2006). ... June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Pilot-Fish - LoveToKnow 1911 (422 words)
That the pilot accompanies sharks is an observation which first appears in works of travel of the 17th century, the writers asserting that it is of great use to its big companion in conducting it and showing it the way to its food.
It is, however, extremely doubtful whether the pilot's connexion with a shark serves a more special purpose than its temporary attachment to a ship.
The coloration of the pilot renders it conspicuous at a distance; on a bluish ground-colour from five to seven dark-blue or violet cross-bands traverse the body from the back to the belly.
pilot - definition by dict.die.net (389 words)
Pilot engine, a locomotive going in advance of a train to make sure that the way is clear.
Pilot jack, a flag or signal hoisted by a vessel for a pilot.
Pilot nut (Bridge Building), a conical nut applied temporarily to the threaded end of a pin, to protect the thread and guide the pin when it is driven into a hole.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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