Saurida Valenciennes, 1849
Body slender, elongate, cylindrical; covered with deciduous cycloid scales. Head somewhat depressed but generally narrow; naked above, bones never rugose. Snout blunt, as long as or longer than diameter of eye. Jaws very long, extending well beyond eye. Upper jaws upturned at symphysis, notched to receive tip of lower jaws. Jaw teeth numerous, sharp, depressible; visible when mouth is closed. Palate with two bands of teeth (palatine + ectopterygoid) on each side. Palatine band consisting of two parallel rows of teeth. A toothed vomer intervening between the palatine bands. Pelvic fin with nine rays, the innermost only slightly longer than outermost. Pelvic inserted well in advance of dorsal fin origin, preceded by a single long axillary scale. Pectoral fin short to moderate, but extending to or beyond origin of dorsal in most species, preceded by an elongate, pointed axillary scale. Anal fin base equal to or shorter than dorsal fin base. Adipose fin present. Caudal fin deeply forked, bearing a series of modified elongate scales basally.
Demersal in coastal waters of warm and temperate seas. Known mostly from the continental shelf (to c. 550 m); a few species in littoral waters. Atlantic and Indo-West Pacific; absent in eastern Pacific. Feeding probably mostly on small fishes and epibenthic crustaceans. Adults presumably dioecious; no external sexual dimorphism apparent. Larval and post-larval stages of some species have been described and figured (Anderson et al., 1966; Gibbs, 1959; Gopinath, 1946; Norman, 1935; Okiyama, 1973; Weber and De Beaufort, 1913). Most species too occasional to have a commercial importance. However, S. gracilis from Hawaii and S. undosquamis from off Japan are reportedly taken and eaten (Jenkins, 1946; Okada, 1955).
Species 9; in Clofnam area 1.
Species of this genus in the program:
Saurida undosquamis