Kentrocapros spilonotus

Kentrocapros spilonotus
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Tetraodontiformes
Family:	Aracanidae
Genus:	Kentrocapros
Species:	K. spilonotus
Binomial name
Kentrocapros spilonotus (Gilbert, 1905)
Synonyms [2]
Aracana spilonotaGilbert, 1905

Kentrocapros spilonotus, the Hawaiian basketfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Aracanidae, the temperate boxfishes or deepwater boxfishes. This species is known from two places in the Hawaiian Islands, one near Laysan and the other is the Penguin Bank.

Taxonomy

Kentrocapros spilonotus was first formally described as Aracana spolinota in 1905 by the American ichthyologist Charles Henry Gilbert with its type locality given as Albatross station 3939 near Laysan Island in the Leeward Islands of Hawaii from a depth between 59 and 163 fathoms (354 and 978 ft; 108 and 298 m). ^[3] In 2006 Keiichi Matsuura examined the known Specimens of A. spilonota and reclassified it into the genus Kentrocapros . ^[4] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the genus Kentrocapros in the family Aracanidae which is in the suborder Ostracioidea within the order Tetraodontiformes. ^[5]

Etymology

Kentrocapros spilonotus is classified within the genus Kentrocapros, a name which combines kentro meaning "thorn" or "spine", a reference to the spiny ridge along the flanks of the type species, K. aculeatus , with capros, meaning "wild boar". This may allude to these fishes being known as seapigs in the 19th Century, probably an allusion to the resemblance of these fishes on a rear view to a pig. The specific name, spilonotus, means "spot-backed" and refers to the brownish-green spotting on the back and upper body of this fish. ^[6]

Description

Kentrocapros spilonotus has between 9 and 11 soft rays in its dorsal fin and between 9 and 12 on the anal fin. There is a stiffcarapace which covers all of the body except the caudal peduncle, gill slit and the bases of the fins. The carapace has three ridges on each side of the body. The lower ridges have a pair of recurved spines in its centre and the upper ridge has smaller recurved spines, also in its centre. The preserved specimens are brown in colour with numerous darker spots on the upper carapace with pale fins. ^[4] This species has a maximum published standard length of 10.6 cm (4.2 in). ^[2]

Distribution and habitat

Kentrocapros spilonotus has been recorded from just two localities in the Hawaiian Islands, one near Laysan Island and the other on the Penguin Bank near Molokai and has been found at depths between 106 to 293 m (348 to 961 ft). ^[1]

References

1. Matsuura, K. & Amaoka, K. (2020). "Kentrocapros spilonotus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T162919274A162919316. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T162919274A162919316.en . Retrieved 29 September 2024.
2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Kentrocapros spilonota". FishBase . June 2024 version.
3. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Kentrocapros". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 1 October 2024.
4. Keiichi Matsuura (2006). "Redescription of the Rare Boxfish, Aracana spilonota, with Comments on Its Taxonomic Position and a Record of Another Rare Boxfish, Kentrocapros flavofasciatus, from Southeastern Australia" (PDF). National Science Museum Monographs. Proceedings of the 7th and 8th Symposia on Collection Building and Natural History Studies in Asia and the Pacific Rim. 34: 273–277.
5. Nelson, J.S.; Grande, T.C.; Wilson, M.V.H. (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 518–526. doi:10.1002/9781119174844. ISBN   978-1-118-34233-6. LCCN   2015037522. OCLC   951899884. OL   25909650M.
6. Christopher Scharpf (21 August 2024). "Order TETRAODONTIFORMES: Families MOLIDAE, BALISTIDAE, MONACANTHIDAE, ARACANIDAE and OSTRACIIDAE". Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 1 October 2024.