~ 835 Tarpon Drive is 835 Tarpon Dr in Southold -{ & }- 835 Tarpon Dr in Greenport ~THERE's SOMETHING FISHY ~
TARPON is a fish.
I spotted online that there are tarpon in the Florida Keys:
I re-composed my-here-version from wikipedia.com:
Very little has been documented concerning their geographical distribution and migrations.
Tarpon are fish of the genus Megalops. They are the only members of the family Megalopidae. Tarpon are considered some of the greatest saltwater game fishes, prized not only because of their great size but also because of their fight and spectacular leaping ability. In 1978 after the International Game Fish Association took responsibility for fly fishing records in salt water, fly fishing for tarpon became increasingly popular, despite declining populations (correlated with the decline of freshwater rivers flowing into the seas around Florida.) Most are released after being caught as tarpon meat is not desirable. Numerous tournaments are focused on catching tarpon.
Species and habitats
The two species of tarpon are Atlantic tarpon/M. atlanticus -( & )- Indo-Pacific tarpon/M. cyprinoides. M. atlanticus is found on the western Atlantic coast from Virginia to Brazil, throughout the Caribbean -( & )- the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Tarpon are also found along the eastern Atlantic coast from Senegal to South Angola. Southeast M. cyprinoides is found along the eastern African coast, throughout Southeast Asia, Japan, Tahiti, -( & )- Australia. Both species are found in marine and freshwater habitats, usually ascending rivers to access freshwater marshes. They are able to survive in brackish water, waters of varying pH, -{ & }- and habitats with low dissolved O 2 content due to their {swim-bladders}- which they use primarily to breathe. They can also rise to the surface and take gulps of air, giving them a short burst of energy. The habitats of tarpon vary greatly with their developmental stages. Stage-one larvae are usually found in clear, warm, oceanic waters, relatively close to the surface. Stage-two and -three larvae are found in salt marshes, tidal pools, creeks, -( & )- river; Their habitats are characteristically warm, shallow, dark bodies of water with sandy mud bottoms. Tarpon commonly ascend rivers into fresh water. As they progress from the juvenile stage to adulthood, they return to the ocean's open waters, though many remain in freshwater habitats.
Fossil species
Fossils of this genus go back to the Cretaceous during the Albian stage 113.0 million years ago (Mya).
M. priscus (Woodward 1901): A species from the Ypresian stage of the Eocene, 56-47 Mya.
M. oblongus (Woodward 1901): A species also from the Ypresian stage of the Eocene, 56-47 Mya. It lived in England along with M. priscus {ALMOST RESEMBLES PRECIOUS)
M. vigilax (Jordan 1927): A fossil species from California dating to the Miocene.
Tarpon breed offshore in warm, isolated areas. Females have high fecundity and can lay up to 12 million eggs at once. They reach sexual maturity once they are about 75–125 cm (30–50 in) in length. Spawning usually occurs in late spring to early summer.[6] Their three distinct levels of development usually occur in varying habitats. Stage one, or the leptocephalus stage, is completed after 20–30 days. It occurs in clear, warm oceanic waters, usually within 10–20 m of the surface. The leptocephalus shrinks as it develops into a larva; the most shrunken larva, stage two, develops by day 70. This is due to a negative growth phase followed by a sluggish growth phase. By day 70, the juvenile growth phase (stage three) begins, and the fish grows rapidly until sexual maturity.
Diet
Stage-one developing tarpon do not forage for food but instead absorb nutrients from seawater using integumentarynim absorption. Stage-two and -three juveniles feed primarily on zooplankton, insects, and small fish. As they progress in juvenile development, especially those developing in freshwater environments, their consumption of insects, fish, crabs, and grass shrimp increases. Adults are strictly carnivorous and feed on midwater prey; they hunt nocturnally and swallow their food whole.
Predation
The main predators of Megalops during stage-one and early stage-two development are other fish, depending on their size. Juveniles are subject to predation by other juvenile Megalops and piscivorous birds. They are especially vulnerable to birds such as ospreys or other raptors when they come to the surface for air due to the rolling manner in which they move to take in air, as well as the silver scales lining their sides. ~ {Swim-bladder} ~
One of the unique features of Megalops is the {swim-bladder}, which, in addition to controlling the buoyancy, can be used as an accessory respiratory organ. It arises dorsally from the posterior pharynx, and the respiratory surface is coated with blood capillaries with a thin epithelium over the top. This is the basis of the alveolar tissue found in the swim bladder and is believed to be one of the primary methods by which Megalops "breathes". These fish are obligate air breathers and will die without sufficient access tossoc the surface. Gas exchange occurs at the surface through a rolling motion commonly associated with tarpon sightings. This "breathing" is believed to be mediated by visual cues, and the frequency of breathing is inversely correlated to the dissolved O 2 content of the water in which they live.
Adults occasionally fall prey to sharks, porpoises, crocodiles, and alligators.