Pontinus

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Pontinus
Temporal range: Early Oligocene to Present [1]
Pontinus nematophthalmus.jpg
Spinythroat scorpionfish (P. nematophthalmus)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Scorpaenidae
Tribe: Scorpaenini
Genus: Pontinus
Poey, 1860
Type species
Pontinus castor
Poey, 1860 [2]
Synonyms [2]
  • Crossoscorpaena Fowler, 1938
  • Merinthe Snyder, 1904
  • NemapontinusFowler, 1938
  • Sebastoplus Gill, 1863

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.

Contents

Taxonomy

Pontinus was first described as a genus in 1860 by the Cuban zoologist Felipe Poey y Aloy when he was describing the longsnout scorpionfish (P. castor) which he had collected at Havana, as this species was the only species Poey definitely placed within the new genus it is its type species by monotypy. [2] [3] The genus name from is derived from pontis, meaning "bridge", an allusion to the suborbital stay, or ridge, which is found in all the species in the subfamily Scorpaeninae. [4]

Species

There are currently 19 recognized species in this genus: [5]

Characteristics

Pontinus scorpionfishes have very bony heads [6] The head has 2 preorbital spines over the maxillary, 3-4 spines on the suborbital ridge although the first spine on the preorbital bone is frequently absent. There is a supplemental preopercular spine and the uppermost preopercular spine is the longest with the second preopercular spine being often absent, then the third and fourth are present but the 5th may be present or absent. They have both vomerine teeth and paltine teeth. The dorsal fin contains 12 spines and 9-10 sot rays while the anal-fin has 3 spines and 5 soft rays with the rearmost ray deeply split. There are 15-20 unbranched fin rays in the pectoral fin. They have a swimbladder The scales on the body are ctenoid and the cheek, postorbital area and top of head are all scaled. They do not have an occipital pit. [7] These scorpionfishes vary in size from a total length of 14 cm (5.5 in) in the spinythroat scorpionfish (P. nematophthalmus) to 54.9 cm (21.6 in) in the mottled spinefish (P. clemensi). [5]

Distribution and habitat

Pontinus scorpionfishes are found in tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic Indian and Pacific Oceans. [6] These are demersal fishes. [5]

Related Research Articles

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<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.

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.

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.

<i>Neomerinthe</i> Genus of fishes

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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 species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Pontinus nigropunctatus, the deepwater jack or St. Helena deepwater scorpionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

<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>Scorpaena afuerae</i> Species of fish

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

<i>Pontinus furcirhinus</i> Species of fish

Pontinus furcirhinus, one of a number of species known as the "red 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>Ectreposebastes</i> Genus of fishes

Ectreposebastes is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the subfamily Setarchinae, the deep-sea bristly scorpionfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. The genus is found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

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.

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Pacific spotted scorpionfish, or the stone scorpionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the largest species in the genus Scorpaena and, like the other species in that genus, it is protected by venomous spines.

<i>Lythrichthys</i> Genus of fishes

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channelled rockfish</span> Genus of fishes

The channelled rockfish, commonly known as the deepwater scorpionfish, is a marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Setarchinae, which is a part of the family Scorpaenidae. This species is found in various tropical and subtropical oceans and has a wide distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spinycheek scorpionfish</span> Species of fish

The spinycheek scorpionfish, also known as Hemingway's scorpionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Scorpaenodes guamensis</i> Species of fish

Scorpaenodes guamensis, the Guam scorpionfish or common scorpionfish, is a species of venomous, marine, ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.

References

  1. ↑ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  2. 1 2 3 Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Scorpaenidae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  3. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Pontinus". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2021). Species of Pontinus in FishBase . August 2021 version.
  6. 1 2 "Genus: Pontinus, Scorpionfishes". Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  7. ↑ Bray, D.J. (2019). "Pontinus". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
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