Zoarces

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Zoarces
Temporal range: Pleistocene to Present [1]
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Zoarces viviparus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Zoarcidae
Subfamily: Zoarcinae
Swainson, 1839 [2]
Genus: Zoarces
Cuvier, 1829
Type species
Blennius viviparus
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

See text.

Synonyms

Macrozoarces Gill, 1863

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.

Contents

Taxonomy

Zoarces was first proposed as a genus in 1829 by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier. Blennius viviparus, which had been described in 1758 by Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae from "European seas". was subsequently designated as the type species. [3] [4] Zoarces is the only genus classified within the subfamily Zoarcinae, one of 4 subfamilies in the family Zoarcidae. [5]

Etymology

Zoarces means "viviparous", i.e. giving birth to live young, however these fishes are ovoviviparous. [6]

Species

Zoarces contains the following species: [7]

Characteristics

Zoarces eelpouts are characterised by having an elongated body and tail with between 101 and 1456 vertebrae, each with a single epural which has two rays. The branchiostegal membrane is joined to the isthmus. They have an interorbital pore. The caudal fin contains between 9 and 11 fin rays. There are 6 suborbital bones form a semicircle around the eye. There are sharp, stiff spines at the rear of the dorsal fin, although infrequently this is absent in one species. [5] The largest species is the ocean pout which has reached a maximum published total length of 110 cm (43 in), the largest of the Zoarcids, while the smallest is the Z. fedorovi with a maximum published total length of 31.5 cm (12.4 in). [7]

Distribution and habitat

Zoarces eelpouts are found in the northern Pacific Ocean and northern Atlantic Ocean, They are found from the sublittoral zone and continental shelf down to depths of 300 m (980 ft), [5] some even enter brackish water when spawning in the winter. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viviparous eelpout</span> Species of fish

The viviparous eelpout, also known as the, viviparous blenny and European eelpout is species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. It is notable for being ovoviviparous and gives birth to live larvae. It is a common soup ingredient in Mediterranean countries. The bones are of greenish colour, due to a harmless pigment. Their skin is slimy and the colour is variable.

The eelpouts are the ray-finned fish family Zoarcidae. As the common name suggests, they are somewhat eel-like in appearance. All of the roughly 300 species are marine and mostly bottom-dwelling, some at great depths. Eelpouts are predominantly found in the Northern Hemisphere. The arctic, north pacific and north Atlantic oceans have the highest concentration of species, however species are found around the globe.

Aiakas is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae the eelpouts. These fishes are found in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Bothrocara</i> Genus of fishes

Bothrocara is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. They are found in the Pacific Ocean with one species reaching the southwestern Atlantic 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>Lycodichthys</i> Genus of fishes

Lycodichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. They are found in the Southern Ocean.

<i>Lycenchelys</i> Genus of fishes

Lycenchelys is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The genus has almost cosmopolitan distribution.

Gymnelinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Most species are found in the North Pacific Ocean but one genus is cosmopolitan, and another is endemic to the Southern Ocean.

<i>Davidijordania</i>

Davidijordania is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The fishes in this genus are found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.

Lycodinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. These eelpouts are found are in all the world's oceans, with a number of species being found off southern South America.

Argentinolycus is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Its only species is Argentinolycus elongatus which is found in coastal southern eastern South America.

<i>Austrolycus</i>

Austrolycus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The two species in this genus are found in the southeastern Pacific Ocean and the western South Atlantic Ocean off southern South America and the Falkland Islands.

Bellingshausenia is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Its only species is Bellingshausenia olasoi which is only known from the Bellingshausen Sea in the Southern Ocean.

Bentartia is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Some authorities treat this genus as monospecific, with the only species being Bentartia cinerea of the Southern Ocean, but other authorities include 4 species from the eastern Pacific Ocean.

<i>Iluocoetes</i>

Iluocoetes is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The only species in the genus is Iluocoetes fimbriatus. This species is found off southern South America, off Chile and Argentina, in the southeastern Pacific and southwestern Atlantic Oceans.

Lycodapus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The species in this genus are found in the Pacific and Southern Oceans.

Lycodonus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The species in this genus are found in the North and Southern Atlantic Ocean. These fishes are sometimes called scutepouts.

<i>Lycogrammoides</i>

Lycogrammoides is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Its only species is Lycogrammoides schmidti, a rare species of the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.

The bearded eelpout is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. This species is the only species in the monospecific genus Lyconema. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Lycozoarces is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts, its only species being Lycozoarces regani. It is the only genus in the monogeneric subfamily Lycozoarinae. This taxon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Tatar Strait in the northern Sea of Japan

References

  1. ↑ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  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.
  3. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Zoarciinae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  4. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Zoarces". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Anderson , M. E. and V. V . Fedorov (2004). "Family Zoarcidae Swainson 1839 — eelpouts" (PDF). California Academy of Sciences Annotated Checklists of Fishes. 34.
  6. ↑ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (6 May 2022). "Order Perciformes Suborder Cottoidea: Infraorder Zoarcales: Family: Zoarcidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  7. 1 2 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2022). Species of Zoarces in FishBase . June 2022 version.
  8. ↑ Chereshnev, Nazarkin & Chegodayeva (2007). "Zoarces fedorovi sp. nova (Perciformes: Zoarcidae), a new species of eelpout from the Tauyskaya Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk". Voprosy Ikhtiologii. 47 (5): 589–600.
  9. ↑ M. Eric Anderson (1994). "Systematics and Osteology of the Zoarcidae (Teleostei: Perciformes)". Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology. 60.
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