Notchheaded marblefish | |
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Lord Howe Island | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Perciformes |
Family: | Aplodactylidae |
Genus: | Aplodactylus |
Species: | A. etheridgii |
Binomial name | |
Aplodactylus etheridgii (J. D. Ogilby, 1889) | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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The notchheaded marblefish (Aplodactylus etheridgii) is a species of marine ray finned fish, one of the marblefishes belonging to the family Aplodactylidae. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
The notchheaded marblefish was first formally described in 1889 as Haplodactylus etheridgii by the Northern Ireland born Australian herpetologist and ichthyologist James Douglas Ogilby with the type locality given as the Admiralty Islets off Lord Howe Island. [2] The specific name of this fish honours the British geologist and paleontologist Robert Etheridge Jr., the leader of the expedition on which the type was collected. [3]
The notchheaded marblefish has an elongate body which has a depth equivalent to roughly a quarter of its standard length. The largest individuals have a bony ridge above the eye, with the space between the eyes being concave. It has a short snout and a rounded head which has a small mouth which is slightly downturned and has fleshy lips, the upper lip projecting. The jaws have small, mostly multicuspid teeth with a few tricuspid ones too and they are set on 3-4 rows in the jaws. The outermost row has the largest teeth and there are two patches of vomerine teeth. There are two pairs of nostrils, the front pair have fleshy flap with cirri on the front and rear margins. There is a wide, flattened spine embedded in the operculum which does not reach the margin. The dorsal fin has a long base but it is nearly split in two by a deep and wide incision between the spiny and soft rayed parts. [4] The profile of the head shows a notch to the rear of the eye. The dorsal fin contains 15-17 spines and 19-20 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 6-7 soft rays. [1] It has large pectoral fins which may be longer than the head and the lowest 5-6 rays are unbranched and fleshy. The body is covered in small, cycloid scales which are embedded in the skin, these extend on to the cheeks and operculum and create a sheath along base of the spiny portion of the dorsal fin. [4] The largest total length recorded is 45 cm (18 in). [1] This species has a brown body covered in very small white spots and it has large white patches along the flanks and an orange rear edge to the operculum. [5] It has a grey belly while the fins are brown, apart from the outer parts of the lower pectoral fin rays which are yellowish. [4]
The notchheaded marblefish is found only around islands in the Tasman Sea in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. In Australian waters it is found off Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island while in New Zealand it occurs at the Kermadec Islands and the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. [4] [6] It is found on coastal reefs at depths between 6 and 20 m (20 and 66 ft). [1]
The notchheaded marblefish is a herbivorous species which grazes on algae. [4]
Cirrhitidae, the hawkfishes, are a family of marine perciform ray-finned fishes found in tropical seas and which are associated with coral reefs.
The porae, the grey morwong, blue morwong, butterfish, Douglas' morwong, Eastern blue morwong, great perch, queen snapper, rubberlip morwong or silver morwong, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. It is found around south eastern Australia and the north eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand at depths of about 10 to 100 metres, on sandy and rocky coasts.
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Aplodactylus arctidens, the marblefish or southern seacarp, is a species of marine ray finned fish, one of the marblefishes belonging to the family Aplodactylidae. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
Aplodactylus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, commonly known as marblefishes or sea carps. It is the only genus in the monogeneric family, Aplodactylidae. The fishes in this genus are found in the south eastern Indian Ocean and the southern Pacific Ocean.
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Cirrhitichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, hawkfishes, from the family Cirrhitidae. They are found on tropical reefs in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. Some species can be found in the aquarium trade.
Sebastolobus, the thornyheads, is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, the rockfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. These fishes are native to the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean. They are generally found in deep waters.
Pterois antennata, the spotfin lionfish, banded lionfish, broadbarred lionfish, broadbarred firefish, raggedfinned firefish, raggedfinned scorpionfish or roughscaled lionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and lionfishes. It is found in the tropical Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.
The coral hawkfish, the pixy hawkfish or sharp-headed hawkfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a hawkfish belonging to the family Cirrhitidae. It is native to tropical reefs of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It occasionally is found in the aquarium trade.
The redspotted hawkfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a hawkfish belonging to the family Cirrhitidae. It is found at depths from 2 to 46 m on tropical reefs in the Western Atlantic. The Redspotted Hawkfish is also found in the aquarium trade.
Harpagifer, the spiny plunderfishes is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, belonging to the family Harpagiferidae, it is the only genus in this monotypic family. They are found in the Southern Ocean.
The spiny flathead, also known as the whitefin flathead or Bengal flathead, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. It is found in the Indo-West Pacific region. This species is the only known member of its genus.
Cirrhitus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, hawkfishes from the family Cirrhitidae. The species in this genus are found on tropical reefs worldwide.
Latridopsis is a genus of marine ray finned fish belonging to the family Latridae, the trumpeters. They are found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean and the southeastern Indian Ocean.
Helicolenus hilgendorfii, Hilgendorf's saucord, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, part of the family Scorpaenidae. It is found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The rock cale, also known as the cockatoo fish, cocky, joey, rock cocky or sea carp, is a species of marine ray finned fish, one of the marblefishes belonging to the family Aplodactylidae. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
Aplodactylus punctatus, the Zamba marblefish, is a species of marine ray finned fish, one of the marblefishes belonging to the family Aplodactylidae. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean of the west coast of South America.
Aplodactylus westralis, the western sea carp or cockatoo morwong, is a species of marine ray finned fish, one of the marblefishes belonging to the family Aplodactylidae. It is found in the eastern Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia.
Pterygotrigla arabica is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. This fish is found in the northern Indian Ocean.