{{Short description|Genus of fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossil range|Aptian|present|Early Cretaceous (Aptian) to present}} | image = Elops saurus.jpg | image_caption = ''Elops saurus'' | taxon = Elops | authority = Linnaeus, 1766 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text }}
'''''Elops''''' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish found worldwide, and the only extant member of the ancient family Elopidae. They are commonly known as '''ladyfish''', '''skipjacks''', '''jack-rashes''', or '''tenpounders'''.
They are fished, but their bodies are bony, so these fish are not marketed widely for consumption. They are caught and used as bait or may be ground down for fish meal.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}}
== Taxonomy == The currently recognized extant species in this genus are:<ref name="mikko">{{cite web |last=Haaramo |first=Mikko |year=2007 |title=''Elopiformes – Tarpons and Tenpounders'' |url=http://www.helsinki.fi/~mhaaramo/metazoa/deuterostoma/chordata/actinopterygii/elopiformes.html |access-date=30 December 2016 |website=Mikko's Phylogeny Archive}}</ref>
* ''Elops affinis'' <small>Regan, 1909</small> (Pacific ladyfish) * ''Elops hawaiensis'' <small>Regan, 1909</small> (Hawaiian ladyfish or giant herring) * ''Elops lacerta'' <small>Valenciennes, 1847</small> (West African ladyfish or Guinean ladyfish) * ''Elops machnata'' <small>(Forsskål, 1775)</small> (tenpounder) * ''Elops saurus'' <small>Linnaeus, 1766</small> (ladyfish) * ''Elops senegalensis'' <small>Regan, 1909</small> (Senegalese ladyfish) * ''Elops smithi'' <small>McBride, Rocha, Ruiz-Carus & Bowen, 2010</small> (malacho)<ref name="n.sp.">{{cite journal |author=McBride, Richard S. |author2=Rocha, Claudia R. |author3=Ruiz-Carus, Ramon |author4=Bowen, Brian W. |year=2012 |title=A new species of ladyfish, of the genus ''Elops'' (Elopiformes: Elopidae), from the western Atlantic Ocean |url=http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2010/f/zt02346p041.pdf |journal=Zootaxa |volume=2346 |pages=29–41}}</ref>
The following fossil species are known, all from otoliths:
* †''Elops bultyncki'' <small>Nolf, 2004</small> - Early Cretaceous (Aptian) of Spain * †''Elops eutawanus'' <small>Schwarzhans et al., 2018</small> - Late Cretaceous (Santonian) of Alabama, USA * †''Elops miiformis'' <small>Lin et al., 2016</small> - Middle Eocene (Lutetian) of France<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lin |first1=Chien-Hsiang |last2=Nolf |first2=Dirk |last3=Steurbaut |first3=Etienne |last4=Girone |first4=Angela |date=2017-11-02 |title=Fish otoliths from the Lutetian of the Aquitaine Basin (SW France), a breakthrough in the knowledge of the European Eocene ichthyofauna |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2016.1246112 |journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology |volume=15 |issue=11 |pages=879–907 |doi=10.1080/14772019.2016.1246112 |bibcode=2017JSPal..15..879L |issn=1477-2019}}</ref> * †''Elops ramaekersii'' <small>Schwarzhans, 1985</small> - Paleocene or early Eocene of Ellesmere Island, Canada)<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Schwarzhans |first=Werner |date=1986 |title=Fish otoliths from the lower Tertiary of Ellesmere Island |url=https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/e86-080 |journal=Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences |volume=23 |issue=6 |pages=787–793 |doi=10.1139/e86-080 |bibcode=1986CaJES..23..787S |issn=0008-4077}}</ref> * ?†''Elops undulatus'' <small>Stinton, 1966</small> - early Eocene of England<ref name=":0" />
Excluding these fossil otoliths, the earliest fossil remains of ''Elops'' are known from the Early Oligocene of Germany.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Micklich |first1=N. |last2=Parin |first2=N. |date=1995 |title=The fishfauna of Frauenweiler (Middle Oligocene, Rupelian; Germany): First results of a review |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309050347 |journal=Publ. Espec. Inst. Esp. Oceanogr. |volume=21 |pages=129–148}}</ref>
Phylogenetic analyses indicate that, in contrast to the ancient nature of the group, the modern species diversity within ''Elops'' originates from a relatively recent evolutionary radiation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=de Sousa |first1=Rodrigo Petry Corrêa |last2=Bessa-Brito |first2=Carla Denise |last3=Guimarães-Costa |first3=Auryceia |last4=Evangelista-Gomes |first4=Grazielle |last5=Sampaio |first5=Iracilda |last6=de Oliveira |first6=Edivaldo Herculano Corrêa |last7=Vallinoto |first7=Marcelo |date=2022-11-20 |title=Exploring the Diversity of Elopidae (Teleostei; Elopiformes) Using DNA Barcoding Analysis |journal=Diversity |language=en |volume=14 |issue=11 |pages=1008 |doi=10.3390/d14111008 |bibcode=2022Diver..14.1008D |doi-access=free |issn=1424-2818}}</ref>
== Description == The ladyfish are a coastal-dwelling fish found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions, occasionally venturing into temperate waters.<ref>Adams, A. J., Horodysky, A. Z., McBride, R. S., Guindon, K., Shenker, J., MacDonald, T. C., Harwell, H. D., Ward, R., and Carpenter, K. Global conservation status and research needs for tarpons (Megalopidae), ladyfishes (Elopidae) and bonefishes (Albulidae). Fish and Fisheries (online, early view as of 2013). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/faf.12017/abstract</ref> Spawning takes place at sea, and the fish larvae migrate inland entering brackish waters. Their food is smaller fish and crustaceans (shrimp). Typically throughout the species, the maximum size is {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on}} and the maximum weight {{convert|10|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. The body is fusiform (tapering spindle shape) and oval in cross-section; being slightly laterally compressed, and the eyes are large and partially covered with adipose eyelids.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}}
Like those of eels, the larvae are leptocephalic - being highly compressed, ribbon-like, and transparent. After initial growth, they shrink and then metamorphose into the adult form.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}}
== References == <references />{{Elopomorpha|state=collapsed}}{{Taxonbar|from=Q909535}} Category:Elopidae Category:Actinopterygii genera Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus