A Description on Pharyngeal Jaw Apparatus and Diets of Halfbeak Fish Zenarchopterus buffonis (Valenciennes 1847) in Malaysian Waters

摘要

Information on the feeding mechanism and diet of halfbeak fish species in harsh estuarine environment ecosystem is still lacking. The present study investigates the fine structure of pharyngeal jaw apparatus and diets of halfbeak fish Zenarchopterus buffonis. A total of 84 halfbeak fish samples have been collected from the coastal water of Peninsular Malaysia using fishing rod. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the micrographs of fine microstructure of the pharyngeal teeth. The fundamental anatomy of pharyngeal jaw apparatus displayed that the upper pharyngeal jaw (third pharyngobranchials) displays larger size of hook-like or tricuspid teeth which was analogous to tricuspid morphology. The lower pharyngeal jaw (fifth ceratobranchial) bears mainly conical teeth and appears triangular shape with two, short projections. The estimated TROPH values (1 - 3.2±0.55) denoted that halfbeak fish were omnivores in nature. The findings of this study was found to be useful as a baseline information for a better representation of the trophic flows associated with large medium and small surface water fishes.