The Cape gurnard (''Chelidonichthys capensis'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

es belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Triglidae ''Triglidae'', commonly known as gurnards or sea robins, are a Family (biology), family of bottom-feeding scorpaeniform ray-finned fish. The gurnards are distributed in temperate and tropical seas worldwide. Taxonomy ''Triglidae'' was first des ...

, the gurnards and sea robins. This species is found in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean and the southwestern

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. This species is of commercial importance as a food fish.

Taxonomy

The Cape gurnard was first formally described in 1829 as ''Trigla capensis'' by the French

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

with the type locality given as the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

in South Africa. Within the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Chelidonichthys ''Chelidonichthys'', the smallscaled gurnards, is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. These gurnards are found in the Eastern Atlantic, Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. Taxonomy ' ...

'' this species is classified in the nominate

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''capensis'' refers to the type locality.

Description

The Cape gurnard has two

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

s, the first contains 8 or 9 spines and the second has between 15 and 17 soft rays. The

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

has between 14 and 16 soft rays. The overall colour and pattern is mottled, red and brown. The

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

s have the 3 innermost rays separate and forming a "claw" which it uses to perch on the substrate, the rest of the pectoral fin rays are long and fan like with the inner part of the fin being dark with a vivid blue edge and marked with 3 or 4 large blue spots. The head is comparatively high and the eyes are on the top of the head. The more pointed snout identifies this species in comparison to the

sympatric In biology, two closely related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter each other. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct spe ...

streaked gurnard The streaked gurnard (''Chelidonichthys lastoviza''), also known as the African gurnard or rock gurnard, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. This fish is found in the eastern Atlantic Oc ...

(''C. lastoviza''). This species attains a maximum published

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured f ...

of , although is more typical.

Distribution and habitat

The Cape gurnard is found in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean and southwestern Indian Ocean ranging from

Cape Fria Cape Fria (literally "cold cape") is a headland overlooking the South Atlantic Ocean situated along the northern shoreline of Namibia, about 120 km (75 mi) to the northwest of Mowe Bay and 200 km to the south of the Angolan border. ...

in Namibia to

Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

in Mozambique, as well as off southern Madagascar. It occurs at depths between . This demersal fish is found on sandy and muddy substrates.

Biology

The Cape gurnard feeds largely on

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...

s and smaller fishes. This species has a long spawning season running from November to January and again in March and April, the eggs are pelagic. Spawning is at its peak in January and April. The males attain sexual maturity at total length at the age of 5 years, and the for the females it is at a total length of at an age of 4 years old. The maximum lifespan for the Cape gurnard is 16 years.<

Fisheries

The Cape gurnard is one of the six main target species for

trawl Trawling is an industrial method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch di ...

fisheries in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

and is a valued food fish.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1826482 Cape gurnard Fish of South Africa Marine fish of Southern Africa Cape gurnard Cape gurnard