| Sea raven | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family: | Agonidae |
| Genus: | Hemitripterus |
| Species: | H. americanus |
| Binomial name | |
| Hemitripterus americanus (Gmelin, 1789) | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Hemitripterus americanus, the sea raven, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Hemitripterinae of the family Agonidae. The sea raven is found along the Atlantic coast of North America.
Hemitripterus americanus was first formally described as Scorpaena americana in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin with its type locality given as "America". [2] In 1801 Marcus Elieser Bloch and Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider described a new species Cottus tripterygius and in 1829 Georges Cuvier proposed the new monotypic genus Hemitripterus for C. tripterygius which was later shown to be a junior synonym of Gmelin's S. americana. [3] [2] The genus Hemitripterus is classified within the subfamily Hemtripterinae of the family Agonidae. [4]
Hemitripterus americanus are variable in color from blood red to reddish purple to yellow brown. The ventral surface is typically yellow. The have large heads and a robust, tapering body. There are obvious fleshy folds on the head and lower jaw. There is also an unusual ragged layer of skin on the first dorsal fin. They have large, fan-shaped pectoral fins and a small caudal fin. They have a broad moutrh which is lined with several rows of teeth. [5] The maximum published total length is 62 cm (24 in) and the maximum published weight is 3.2 kg (7.1 lb). [1]
Hemitripterus americanus is found along the Atlantic Coast of North America, from Labrador in Canada to Chesapeake Bay. [1] They are demersal fish found over rocky or hard substrates but can be found anywhere in the water column. [5]
Hemitripterus americanus is considered to be a voracious predator which preys on a wide variety of animals including benthic invertebrates and fish such as herring, sand eels and silver hake. When they are removed from the water they inflate and if returned to it they cannot submerge. Spawning adults attach their eggs to the bases of sponges. [1]
Agonidae is a family of small, bottom-dwelling, cold-water marine fish. Common names for members of this family include poachers, Irish lords, sea ravens, alligatorfishes, starsnouts, hooknoses, and rockheads. They are notable for having elongated bodies covered by scales modified into bony plates, and for using their large pectoral fins to move in short bursts. The family includes about 59 species in some 25 genera, some of which are quite widespread.
Zoarces is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. It is the only genus in the subfamily Zoarcinae. These eelpouts are found in the northern Atlantic and northern Pacific Oceans.
The Hemitripterinae is a subfamily of the scorpaeniform family Agonidae, known as sea ravens or sailfin sculpins. They are bottom-dwelling fish that feed on small invertebrates, found in the northwest Atlantic and north Pacific Oceans. They are covered in small spines.
Dermatolepis is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, groupers from the subfamily Epinephelinae, part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. They are found in the western Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Plectropomus, commonly known as the coral groupers, is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, groupers from the subfamily Epinephelinae, part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. They are found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Bellator is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triglidae, one of two genera belonging to the subfamily Prionotinae, the sea robins. These fishes are found in the Western Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific Ocean, in the waters off both North and South America.
Agonus is a monospecific genus of ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Agoninae in the family Agonidae. Its only species is Agonus cataphractus, commonly known as the hooknose, pogge or armed bullhead. This is a demersal fish found in the coastal waters of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.
Hemanthias is a genus of colourful marine ray-finned fish in the subfamily Anthiinae, part of the family Serranidae, the groupers and sea basses. They are found at rocky reefs at depths of 20–610 m (66–2,001 ft) in the tropical and subtropical East Pacific and West Atlantic.
Pronotogrammus is a genus of colourful marine ray-finned fishes in the subfamily Anthiinae, which is part of the family Serranidae, the groupers and sea basses. They are found at reefs at depths of 40–325 m (131–1,066 ft) in the tropical and subtropical East Pacific and West Atlantic.
Bothragonus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Agonidae, the poachers and related fishes. It is the only genus in monotypic subfamily Bothragoninae. These fishes are found in the northern Pacific Ocean.
Hemilepidotus, the Irish lords, is a genus of ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Agonidae, the poachers and sea ravens. These fishes are found in northern Pacific, northern Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans.
Blepsias is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Agonidae, the poachers and related fishes. These fishes are found in the coastal northern Pacific Ocean from Japan to California.
Hemitripterus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, sculpins, belonging to the subfamily Hemitripterinae which is part of the family Agonidae. These fishes are found in the North Pacific and Northwest Atlantic Oceans.
Nautichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, sculpins, belonging to the subfamily Hemitripterinae which is part of the family Agonidae. These fishes are found in the North Pacific Ocean.
Blepsias cirrhosus, the silverspotted sculpin, is a species of sculpin belonging to the subfamily Hemitripterinae of the family Agonidae. This species is found the northern Pacific Ocean from the Sea of Japan and Alaska to San Miguel Island off southern California.
Blepsias bilobus, the crested sculpin, is a species of sculpin belonging to the subfamily Hemitripterinae of the family Agonidae. This species is found in the North Pacific Ocean.
The yellow Irish lord is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Agonidae It is found in the northern Pacific Ocean.
Polyprion is a genus of marine ray-finned fish from the family Polyprionidae, the wreckfishes.
The threadtail anthias is a species of marine ray-finned fish, an anthias from the subfamily Anthiinae part of the family Serranidae, the groupers and sea basses. It is the only member of the genus Tosana. It is found in the Western Pacific Ocean from Japan to the South China Sea in deep coastal waters over sandy-muddy substrates.
Bathyagoninae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Agonidae, part of the sculpin superfamily Cottoidea. These fishes are found in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.