Scorpaenidae

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Scorpionfish
Scorpionfish Nick Hobgood.jpg
Scorpaenopsis oxycephala
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Suborder: Scorpaenoidei
Family: Scorpaenidae
A. Risso, 1826
Type species
Scorpaena porcus
Subfamilies

See text

Scorpaena scrofa Grosserdrachenkopf-02.jpg
Scorpaena scrofa

The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As their name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venomous mucus. The family is a large one, with hundreds of members. They are widespread in tropical and temperate seas but mostly found in the Indo-Pacific. They should not be confused with the cabezones, of the genus Scorpaenichthys , which belong to a separate, though related, family, Cottidae.

Contents

Taxonomy

Scorpaenidae was described as a family in 1826 by the French naturalist Antoine Risso. [1] The family is included in the suborder Scorpaenoidei of the order Scorpaeniformes in the 5th Edition of Fishes of the World [2] but other authorities place it in the Perciformes either in the suborder Scorpaenoidei [3] or the superfamily Scorpaenoidea. [4] The subfamilies of this family are treated as valid families by some authorities. [3]

Subfamilies and tribes

Scorpaenidae is divided into the following subfamilies and tribes, containing a total of 65 genera with no less than 454 species: [2] [1]

Characteristics

Scorpaenidae have a compressed body with the head typically having ridges and spines. There are 1-2 spines on the operculum, with 2 normally being divergent, and 3-5 on the preoperculum, normally 5. The suborbital stay is normally securely attached to the preoperculum, although in some species it may not be attached. If there are scales they are typically ctenoid. They normally have a single dorsal fin which is frequently incised. The dorsal fin contains between 11 and 17 spines and 8 and 17 soft rays while the anal fin usually has between 1 and 3 spines, normally 3, and 3 to 9 soft rays, typically 5, There is a single spine in the pelvic fin and between 2 and 5 soft rays, again typically 5, while the large pectoral fin contains 11-25 soft rays and sometimes has a few of the lower rays free of its membrane. The gill membranes are not attached to the isthmus. In some species, there is no swim bladder. There are venom glands in the spines of the dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins in some species. Most species utilise internal fertilisation, and some species are ovoviviparous while others lay their eggs in a gelatinous mass, with Scorpaena guttata being reported to create a gelatinous "egg balloon" as large as 20 cm (7.9 in) across. [2] The largest species is the shortraker rockfish (Sebastes borealis) which attains a maximum total length of 108 cm (43 in) while many species have maximum total lengths of 5 cm (2.0 in). [5] [6]

Distribution and habitat

Scorpaenidae species are mainly found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but some species are also found in the Atlantic Ocean. [2] Some species such as the lionfishes in the genus Pterois are invasive non native species in areas such as the Caribbean [7] and the eastern Mediterranean Sea. [8] They are found in marine and brackish habitats. [5] They typically inhabit reefs, but can also be found in estuaries, bays, and lagoons.

Related Research Articles

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

Sebastinae is a subfamily of marine fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae in the order Scorpaeniformes. Their common names include rockfishes, rock perches, ocean perches, sea perches, thornyheads, scorpionfishes, sea ruffes and rockcods. Despite the latter name, they are not closely related to the cods in the genus Gadus, nor the rock cod, Lotella rhacina.

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

Synanceiinae is a subfamily of venomous ray-finned fishes, waspfishes, which is classified as part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific oceans. They are primarily marine, though some species are known to live in fresh or brackish waters. The various species of this family are known informally as stonefish, stinger, stingfish and ghouls. Its species are known to have the most potent neurotoxins of all the fish venoms, secreted from glands at the base of their needle-like dorsal fin spines. The vernacular name, stonefish, for some of these fishes derives from their behaviour of camouflaging as rocks. The type species of the family is the estuarine stonefish.

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

Scorpaenoidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes, part of the order Scorpaeniformes, that includes the scorpionfishes, lionfishes and velvetfishes. This suborder is at its most diverse in the Pacific and Indian Oceans but is also found in the Atlantic Ocean.

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

Setarchinae, the deep-sea bristly scorpionfishes, is a small subfamily of deep-sea ray-finned fishes, it is part of the family Scorpaenidae. They are small marine fishes, growing up to 25 cm, and are found in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world.

<i>Scorpaena</i> Genus of fishes

Scorpaena is a widespread genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes.

<i>Dendrochirus</i> Genus of fishes

Dendrochirus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. They are mostly known as turkeyfishes or pygmy lionfishes. They are native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. They are also popular aquarium fish.

<i>Brachypterois</i> Genus

Brachypterois is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. They are native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

<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>Pterois antennata</i> Species of fish

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.

<i>Dendrochirus brachypterus</i> Species of fish

Dendrochirus brachypterus, the dwarf lionfish, short-finned turkeyfish, shortspine rockcod or shortspine scorpionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and lionfishes. It is found in the Indo-Pacific. It is sometimes found in the aquarium trade.

The Andover lionfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and lionfishes. It is found in the western Pacific Ocean.

<i>Pterois russelii</i> Species of fish

Pterois russelii, the largetail turkeyfish, plaintail firefish, plaintail turkeyfish, Russell's firefish, Russell's lionfish, spotless butterfly-cod or the spotless firefish, is a species of ray-finned fish with venomous spines belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and lionfishes. It is native to the Indo-Pacific Ocean from the eastern part of Africa to the Persian Gulf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platycephaloidei</span> Suborder of fish

Platycephaloidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes, part of the order Scorpaeniformes, and includes the flatheads, ghost flatheads and sea robins.

<i>Pterois brevipectoralis</i> Species of fish

Pterois brevipectoralis is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and lionfishes. This species is found in the Western Indian Ocean at a depth of 70 to 80 m.

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

Scorpaeninae is a subfamily of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae in the order Scorpaeniformes, it includes the scorpionfishes, the lionfishes and turkeyfishes. They bear venomous spines in the anal, dorsal and pelvic fins which can cause severe pain in envenomated humans. The subfamily is distributed in the tropical and temperate seas around the world.

<i>Pterois cincta</i> Species of ray-finned fish

Pterois cincta, the Red Sea lionfish or Red Sea clearfin lionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and lionfishes. It is found in the Red Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choridactylini</span> Tribe of fishes

Choridactylini, commonly known as stingfishes, stingers or ghouls, is a tribe of venomous ray-finned fishes classified within the subfamily Synanceiinae, the stonefishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific.

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 3 4 J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 468–475. ISBN   978-1-118-34233-6.
  3. 1 2 Ricardo Betancur-R; Edward O. Wiley; Gloria Arratia; et al. (2017). "Phylogenetic classification of bony fishes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17 (162): 162. doi: 10.1186/s12862-017-0958-3 . PMC   5501477 . PMID   28683774.
  4. ↑ Hisashi Imamura (2004). "Phylogenetic Relationships and New Classification of the Superfamily Scorpaenoidea (Actinopterygii: Perciformes)". Species Diversity. 9: 1–36. doi: 10.12782/specdiv.9.1 .
  5. 1 2 Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2021). "Scorpaenidae" in FishBase . June 2021 version.
  6. ↑ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2021). "Sebastidae" in FishBase . June 2021 version.
  7. ↑ Hamner, R. M.; Freshwater, D. W.; Whitfield, P. E. (2007). "Mitochondrial cytochrome b analysis reveals two invasive lionfish species with strong founder effects in the western Atlantic". Journal of Fish Biology. 71: 214–222. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2007.01575.x.
  8. ↑ Weisberger, Mindy (28 June 2016). "Aliens Attack! Invasive Lionfish Arrive in Mediterranean". livescience.com. Retrieved 13 February 2020.

Further reading

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