Quillfish

Last updated

Quillfish
Ptilichthys goodei 2.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Suborder: Zoarcoidei
Family: Ptilichthyidae
Jordan & Gilbert, 1883 [1]
Genus: Ptilichthys
Bean, 1881 [2]
Species:
P. goodei
Binomial name
Ptilichthys goodei
Bean, 1881

The quillfish, (Ptilichthys goodei), is a species of marine ray-finned fish, it is the only species in the genus Ptilichthys and family Ptilichthyidae. This fish occurs in the northern North Pacific Ocean.

Contents

Taxonomy

The quillfish was first formally described in 1881 by the American ichthyologist Tarleton Hoffman Bean with its type locality given as the entrance to Port Levasheff in Unalaska in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. [3] Bean also proposed the monotypic genus Ptilichthys when he described this species. [2] In 1883 David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert classified Bean's genus in a monogeneric family, the Ptilichthyidae. [1] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies this family within the suborder Zoarcoidei, within the order Scorpaeniformes. [4] Other authorities classify this family in the infraorder Zoarcales wihin the suborder Cottoidei of the Perciformes because removing the Scorpaeniformes from the Perciformes renders that taxon non monophyletic. [5]

Etymology

The generic name Ptilichthys is a combination of ptilon, which is Greek for "quill" with ichthys. meaning "fish", an allusion to the feather-like appearance of this fish, being extremely elongate, slender and with long dorsal and anal fins. The specific name honours the American ichthyologist George Brown Goode, who was a colleague and collaborator of Bean's. [6]

Description

The Quillfish has an extremely elongate, slender body with lon-based tall dorsal and anal fins which make the fish similar in shape to the primary feather of a bird or a quill pen. The small head is only between 4 and 7% of the length of the body and there is a wide fleshy appendage at the front of the lower jaw. The dorsal fin has its origin on the nape and has between 79 and 90 low spines, free of the fin membrane, followed by between 130 and 157 soft rays. The anal fin has its origin at around a third of the body length, contains 166 to 196 soft rays. Both the dorsal fins are joined to the much reduced caudal fin. As the fish grows the caudal fin has a fleshy extension which extends and becomes more or less filamentous. It has rounded pectoral fins but no pelvic fins and lacks a pelvic girdle. There is a single pair of nostrils. The minute cycloid scales are scattered or may be absent. The sharp, conical teeth are present in the jaw, arranged in a dense single row, but there are no other teeth. There is no pyloric caeca or swim bladder. The overall colour may be yellow or orange to greenish gray, and the body is rather translucent. There is a dark streak along body with others on head in preserved specimens. Attains up to 39 cm length not including caudal filament. [7] The species attains a maximum published total length of 40 cm (16 in). [8]

Distribution and habitat

The quillfish occurs in the northern North Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea in the north and south to Oregon in the eastern Pacific and to the Sea of Japan and Sea of Okhotsk in the western Pacific. [7] They are demersal fish which arefound at depths between 0 and 360 m (0 and 1,181 ft). [8]

Biology

Quillfish have been found on the surface at night, attracted by the lights of fishing boats, but little is known about its daytime habits; it may burrow in sandy and muddy bottoms during the day, emerging at dusk to feed and they are attracted to artificial lights. [7]

Quillfishes have been found in the stomachs of juvenile Coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, and Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. The longest quillfish was nearly as long (82%) as its predator. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronquil</span> Family of fishes

Ronquils is a small family marine ray-finned fish, the Bathymasteridae. These fishes are found only in Arctic and North Pacific waters. This family contains just seven species in three genera. The larger species are important to commercial fisheries as food fish. Ronquils are most closely related to the eelpouts and prowfish in the suborder Zoarcoidei of the order Scorpaeniformes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anoplopomatidae</span> Family of fishes

Anoplopomatidae, the sablefishes, are a small family of ray-finned fishes classified within the order Scorpaeniformes. This family is the only family in the monotypic superfamily Anoplopomatoidea. These fishes are found in the North Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhamphocottidae</span>

Rhamphocottidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the superfamily Cottoidea, the sculpins. The species in this family occur in the North Pacific Ocean.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hexagrammidae</span> Family of fishes

Hexagrammidae, the greenlings, is a family of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the suborder Cottoidei in the order Scorpaeniformes. These fishes are found in the North Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anarhichadidae</span> Family of fishes

Anarhichadidae, the wolffishes, sea wolves or wolf eels, is a family of marine ray finned fishes belonging to the order Scorpaeniformes. These are predatory, eel shaped fishes which are native to the cold waters of the Arctic, North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pholidae</span> Family of fishes

Pholidae is a family of marine ray-finned fishes, known as gunnels, in the scorpaeniform suborder Zoarcoidei. These are fishes of the littoral zone and are mainly found in North Pacific Ocean, with two species found in the North Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stichaeidae</span> Family of fishes

Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies, are a family of marine ray-finned fishes in the suborder Zoarcoidei of the order Scorpaeniformes. Most species are found in the North Pacific Ocean with a few in the North Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stripedfin ronquil</span> Species of fish

The stripedfin ronquil, also known as the bluebanded ronquil, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Bathymasteridae, the ronquils. This fish is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trichodontidae</span> Family of fishes

The Trichodontidae, or sandfishes, are a small family of ray-finned fishes from the order Scorpaeniformes. The species in this family are found in the North Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoarcoidei</span> Suborder of fishes

Zoarcoidei is a suborder of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Scorpaeniformes. The suborder includes the wolffishes, gunnels and eelpouts. The suborder includes about 400 species. These fishes predominantly found in the boreal seas of the northern hemisphere but they have colonised the southern hemisphere.

<i>Anarhichas</i> Genus of fishes

Anarhichas is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Anarhichadidae, the wolffishes or sea wolves. These fishes are found in the northern North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aulorhynchidae</span> Family of fishes

Aulorhynchidae, the tube-snouts, is a small family of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the suborder Gasterosteoidei in the order Scorpaeniformes. These fishes are found in the northern Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korean sandlance</span> Species of fish

The Korean sandlance is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Hypoptychidae. The Korean sandlance is the only species in this monotypic family and genus and is found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaniolepididae</span>

The Zaniolepididae is a family of marine ray-finned fishes classified within the suborder Cottoidei of the order Scorpaeniformes. They are found in the North Pacific Ocean.

<i>Cryptacanthodes</i> Genus of fishes

Cryptacanthodes is a genus of is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the monogeneric family Cryptacanthodidae, commonly referred to as wrymouths. Three of the four species are found in the Pacific Ocean with one species native to the western Atlantic Ocean where they are benthic fishes, tunneling through soft substrates. It is currently the only known genus in its family.

<i>Eschmeyer nexus</i> Species of fish

Easchmeyer nexus is a species of marine ray-finned fish; it is the only species in the monotypic genus Eschmeyer and monogeneric family Eschmeyeridae. This fish is only known from the Pacific Ocean, near Fiji.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockweed gunnel</span> Species of fish

The rockweed gunnel, also known as the Fucus blenny, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Pholidae, the gunnels. This species is found in the eastern North Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opisthocentrinae</span> Subfamily of fishes

Opisthocentrinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes, classified within the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies. These fishes are found in the North Pacific Ocean.

<i>Pholidapus</i>

Pholidapus is a monotypic genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks and shannies. Its only species is Pholidapus dybowskii which is found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.

References

  1. 1 2 Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of Recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 001–230. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 . PMID   25543675.
  2. 1 2 Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Ptilichthyidae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  3. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Ptilichthy". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  4. ↑ J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 478–482. ISBN   978-1-118-34233-6.
  5. ↑ Ricardo Betancur-R; Edward O. Wiley; Gloria Arratia; et al. (2017). "Phylogenetic classification of bony fishes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17 (162). doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0958-3. PMC   5501477 .
  6. ↑ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (4 July 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 11): Suborder Cottoidea: Infraorder Zoarcales: Families: Anarhichadidae, Neozoarcidae, Eulophias, Stichaeidae, Lumpenidae, Ophistocentridae, Pholidae, Ptilichthyidae, Zaproridae, Cryptacanthodidae, Cebidichthyidae, Scytalinidae and Bathymasteridae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Mecklenburg, C.W. (2003). "Family Ptilichthyidae Jordan & Gilbert 1883 - quillfishes". California Academy of Sciences Annotated Checklists of Fishes. 12.
  8. 1 2 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2022). "Ptilichthys goodei" in FishBase . February 2022 version.
  9. ↑ Laurie A. Weitkamp (2005). "Quillfish, Ptilichthys goodei, Filiform Prey for Small Coho and Chinook Salmon". Alaska Fishery Research Bulletin. 11 (1).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.