Phenacoscorpius

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Phenacoscorpius
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Scorpaenidae
Tribe: Scorpaenini
Genus: Phenacoscorpius
Fowler, 1938
Type species
* Phenacoscorpius megalops
Fowler, 1938 [1]

Phenacoscorpius, the no-lined scorpionfishes, is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. They are native to the western Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans.

Contents

Taxonomy

Phenacoscorpius was first described as a genus in 1938 by the American ichthyologist Henry Weed Fowler when he described Phenacoscorpius megalops from the Philippines which he designated as the type species of the new monotypic genus. [1] [2] The genus name is a compound of phenaco, which means “cheat”, an allusion to the incomplete lateral line of P. megalops, and scorpius, meaning “scorpion”, as this is a scorpionfish. [3]

Species

Phenacoscorpius contains, as of January 2022, seven recognized species: [4] [5]

Characteristics

Phenacoscorpius scorpionfishes have very bony heads armed with strong spines and without an occipital pit on the top of the head behind the eyes. The suborbital ridge has 5-6 spines. There are teeth on the sides of the roof of the mouth but none in the front. The uppermost preopercular spine is the largest. There are 12 spines and 9 soft rays in the dorsal fin and 3 spines and 5 soft rays in the anal fin. The pectoral fins have 15-17 rays with the upper rays being branched, the central rays being the longest and the lower rays having their tips exposed. The lateral line is incomplete being made up of only 4-5 pored scales at the front. [7] These scorpionfishes vary in size from a standard length of 6.3 cm (2.5 in) in P. longirostris and a total length of 13.5 cm (5.3 in) in P. megalops. [4]

Distribution and habitat

Phenacoscorpius scorpionfishes have an almost circumtropical distribution and are mainly found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with one species in the western Atlantic Ocean, although they are not found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.These are deepwater fishes typically found deeper then 500 m (1,600 ft). [4]

Related Research Articles

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Scorpaena cardinalis, the eastern red scorpionfish, grandfather hapuku, cardinal scorpionfish, Cook's scorpionfish, Cook's rockcod, Kermadec scorpionfish, Northern scorpionfish, red scorpion fish, red scorpion-cod or Sandy-bay cod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

<i>Scorpaenodes</i> Genus of fishes

Scorpaenodes is a widespread genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. The fishes in this genus are found to the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean.

<i>Sebastapistes</i> Genus of fishes

Sebastapistes is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. The fishes in this genus are found in the Indian and Pacific Ocean.

<i>Scorpaenopsis</i> Genus of fishes

Scorpaenopsis is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. The fishes in this genus are found in the Indian and Pacific Ocean.

<i>Rhinopias</i> Genus of fishes

Rhinopias is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. The species in this genus are found in the Indian and Pacific oceans.

<i>Pteroidichthys</i> Genus of fishes

Pteroidichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. The scorpionfishes in this genus are distributed in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

<i>Pontinus</i> Genus of fishes

Pontinus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. The scorpionfishes in this genus are distributed in the tropical and warm temperate parts Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

<i>Ebosia</i> Genus of fishes

Ebosia is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. They are known as falcate lionfishes. They are native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Idiastion is a small genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. They are found in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

<i>Neomerinthe</i> Genus of fishes

Neomerinthe is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. They are found in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean.

The spotfin scorpionfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is known from the western Indian Ocean This species is the only known member of the genus Neoscorpanea.

<i>Pteroidichthys amboinensis</i> Species of fish

Pteroidichthys amboinensis, the Ambon scorpionfish or Godfrey's scorpionfish, is a is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the Indian and Pacific oceans.

<i>Rhinopias frondosa</i> Species of fish

Rhinopias frondosa, the weedy scorpionfish or the weed fish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. This species is found in the Indo-West Pacific. It is a rare but highly desirable fish in the aquarium trade.

<i>Rhinopias eschmeyeri</i> Species of fish

Rhinopias eschmeyeri or Eschmeyer's scorpionfish or paddle-flap scorpionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. This species is found in the Indo-West Pacific. It grows to an average size of 16.6 cm in length. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. Although some have raised questions as to whether R. eschmeyeri is a morphological variant of Rhinopias frondosa rather than a separate species, a 2006 study by Motomura and Johnson confirmed the species' existence and distinguished it from other members of the genus Rhinopias.

Poss's scorpionfish is a species of venomous marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.

<i>Parascorpaena mossambica</i> Species of fish

Parascorpaena mossambica, the Mozambique scorpionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. This species is native to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean to Micronesia, although the Pacific populations may be a separate species. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a length of 10 centimetres (3.9 in) TL.

Barchin scorpionfish Species of fish

The barchin scorpionfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It comes from the Indo-Pacific. The species is commonly seen in areas with mixed sand and rubble in reef flats, shallow lagoons, and channels.

Scorpaena cocosensis, the Cocos scorpionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

<i>Lioscorpius</i> Genus of fishes

Lioscorpiusis a genus of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the subfamily Setarchinae, the deep-sea bristly scorpionfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. They are native to the western Pacific Ocean.

<i>Lythrichthys</i> Genus of fishes

Lythrichthys, the red deepwater scorpionfishes, is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the subfamily Setarchinae, the deep-sea bristly scorpionfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. They are native to the Pacific Ocean.

References

  1. 1 2 Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Scorpaenidae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  2. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Phenacoscorpius". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  3. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (2 October 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 9): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Family Scorpaenidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2021). Species of Phenacoscorpius in FishBase . August 2021 version.
  5. 1 2 Motomura, H.; Causse, R. & Struthers, C.D. (2012). "Phenacoscorpius longilineatus, a New Species of Deepwater Scorpionfish from the Southwestern Pacific Ocean and the First Records of Phenacoscorpius adenensis from the Pacific Ocean (Teleostei: Scorpaenidae)". Species Diversity. 17 (2): 151–160.
  6. Motomura, H.; Kanehira, N. & Imamura, H. (2012). "Redescription of a Poorly Known Southeastern Pacific Scorpionfish (Scorpaenidae), Phenacoscorpius eschmeyeri Parin and Mandrytsa". Species Diversity. 17 (2): 145–150.
  7. "Genus: Phenacoscorpius, Scorpionfishes". Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system. Smithsonian Tropical research Institute. Retrieved 19 January 2022.