Megalopidae

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Megalopidae

 

a family of fish of the order Clupeiformes, having one genus (Megalops) with two species. The scales are very large—up to 5–7 cm. Megalops atlanticus (tarpon) is found off the coasts of tropical America and Africa, sometimes venturing into the mouths of rivers. It has a length up to 2.4 m and a weight up to 150 kg, although the average specimen is smaller. Megalops cyprinoides (oxeye) inhabits the warm waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans from Korea to Australia. Its length does not exceed 1 m. Megalopidae are popular sport fish.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.