Thymichthys

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Thymichthys
Sympterichthys politus.jpg
Red handfish (Thymichthys politus)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Lophiiformes
Family: Brachionichthyidae
Genus: Thymichthys
Last & Gledhill, 2009
Type species
Cheironectes politus
Richardson, 1844 [1]
Species

See text

Thymichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Brachionichthyidae, the handfishes. Like all members of the handfish family these fishes are endemic to Australia.

Contents

Taxonomy

Thymichthys was first proposed as a genus in 2009 by the Australian zoologists Peter R. Last and Daniel C. Gledhill when they reviewed the family Brachionichthyidae. [1] [2] Cheironectes politus, which was described in 1844 by the Scottish naturalist and explorer John Richardson from the Actaeon Islands in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel off Tasmania, [3] was designated as the type species. [1] This genus is classified within the family Brachionichthyidae which the 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the family Brachionichthyidae within the suborder Antennarioidei within the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes. [4]

Etymology

Thymichthys is a combination of thymos, meaning "warty growths", and ichthys, which means "fish". This is an allusion to the warty protuberances on the skin of this fish. [5]

Species

Thymichthys contains the following two species: [6]

Characteristics

Thymichthys handfish are separated from the other handfish genera by the possession if war-like bumps, clearly marked sensory scales and dermal appendages on the skin. They also have a comparatively deeper body. the depth at the second dorsal fin being between 32% and 52% of the standard length. The body varies in shape from almost triangular to elongate with a slightly compressed cross-section and they have a short caudal peduncle. Their illicium may be thick or thin and is around 2 to 3.5 times the length of the head and 4 times the length of the esca. The surface of the skin is typically smooth with a scattering of embedded scales. These scales bear short, rearwards pointing and adpressed spinules which have a single or double point and the scales have irregularly shaped bases. They usually have vividly coloured bodies, strongly patterned with spots, blotches and reticulations. [7] The species in this genus have maximum published lengths of around 9 cm (3.5 in). [6]

Distribution

Thymichthys handfish are endemic to the temperate waters of Australia where they are found from Wilson Bluff on the Great Australian Bight east to New South Wales and south to Tasmania. [2]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Brachionichthyidae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  2. 1 2 Last, P.R.; Gledhill, D.C. (2009). "A revision of the Australian handfishes (Lophiiformes: Brachionichthyidae), with descriptions of three new genera and nine new species" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2252: 1–77.
  3. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Thymichthys". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  4. ↑ Nelson, J.S.; Grande, T.C.; Wilson, M.V.H. (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 508–518. doi:10.1002/9781119174844. ISBN   978-1-118-34233-6. LCCN   2015037522. OCLC   951899884. OL   25909650M.
  5. ↑ Christopher Scharpf (14 November 2022). "Order LOPHIIFORMES (part 1): Families LOPHIIDAE, ANTENNARIIDAE, TETRABRACHIIDAE, LOPHICHTHYIDAE, BRACHIONICHTHYIDAE, CHAUNACIDAE and OGCOCEPHALIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  6. 1 2 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2024). Species of Thymichthys in FishBase . February 2024 version.
  7. ↑ Dianne J. Bray. "Thymichthys". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
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