''Neomerinthe'' is a

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Scorpaenidae The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a family (biology), family of mostly ocean, 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 ...

, the scorpionfishes. They are found in

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, Indian and

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

Taxonomy

''Neomerinthe'' was first described as a genus in 1935 by the American ichthyologist

Henry Weed Fowler Henry Weed Fowler (March 23, 1878 – June 21, 1965) was an American zoologist born in Holmesburg, Philadelphia, Holmesburg, Pennsylvania. He studied at Stanford University under David Starr Jordan. He joined the Academy of Natural Sciences in Ph ...

, Fowler was describing ''N. hemingwayi'', with a type locality given as off

Cape May, New Jersey Cape May (sometimes Cape May City) is a City (New Jersey), city and seaside resort located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located on the Atlantic Ocean ...

, which he designated as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of a new genus. The genus name is a compound of ''neo'', meaning ''new'', and ''Merinthe'', a synonym of the genus ''

Pontinus ''Pontinus'' is a genus of marine Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish belonging to the Family (biology), family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. The scorpionfishes in this genus are distributed in the tropical and warm temperate parts Atlantic, Indi ...

'', which Fowler thought ''N. hemingwayi'' resembled.

Species

''Neomerinthe'' has 12 species classified within it: * '' Neomerinthe amplisquamiceps'' ( Fowler, 1938) (Orange scorpionfish) * '' Neomerinthe bauchotae'' Poss & Duhamel, 1991 * '' Neomerinthe beanorum'' ( Evermann & M. C. Marsh, 1900) * '' Neomerinthe costata'' * '' Neomerinthe erostris'' (

Alcock Alcock is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfred William Alcock, British naturalist * C. W. Alcock, British sports administrator, creator of the FA Cup * Charles R. Alcock, American astronomer * Deborah Alcock, British auth ...

, 1896) (Round scorpionfish) Motomura, H., Causse, R., Béarez, P. & Mishra, S.S. (2015): Redescription of the Indo-West Pacific scorpionfish (Scorpaenidae), ''Neomerinthe erostris'' (Alcock 1896), a senior synonym of ''Scorpaena gibbifrons'' Fowler 1938, ''N. rotunda'' Chen 1981, and ''N. bathyperimensis'' Zajonz & Klausewitz 2002. ''Zootaxa, 4021 (4): 529-540.'' * '' Neomerinthe folgori'' ( Postel & C. Roux, 1964) (Folger's scorpionfish) * '' Neomerinthe hemingwayi'' Fowler, 1935 (Spiny-cheek scorpionfish) * '' Neomerinthe megalepis'' ( Fowler, 1938) * '' Neomerinthe naevosa'' Motomura, Béarez & Causse, 2011 (Blotched Polynesian scorpionfish) Motomura, H., Béarez, P. & Causse, R. (2011): Review of Indo-Pacific specimens of the subfamily Scorpaeninae (Scorpaenidae), deposited in the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, with description of a new species of ''Neomerinthe''. ''Cybium, 35 (1): 55-73.'' * '' Neomerinthe pallidimacula'' ( Fowler, 1938) (Three-striped scorpionfish) Motomura, H., Causse, R. & Béarez, P. (2016): Validity of a poorly known western Pacific scorpionfish (Scorpaenidae), ''Neomerinthe pallidimacula'' (Fowler, 1938). ''Cybium, 40 (2): 109-113.'' * '' Neomerinthe parallelaspina'' * '' Neomerinthe procurva'' L. C. Chen, 1981 (Curved-spine scorpionfish) * '' Neomerinthe rufescens'' ( C. H. Gilbert, 1905)

Characteristics

''Neomerinthe'' scorpionfishes have an elongate and robust body> they do not have an occipital pit located o the rear of the eyes but there is a bony suborbital ridge under the eye which is armed with 3 spines. The uppermost spine on the preoperculum is longer than the others. There are teeth on the sides of the roof of the mouth. The

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 ...

has 12 spines and 9-10 soft rays, the rearmost ray being split to its base. 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 ...

is wedge-shaped with 16-18 rats, the longest rays being in the centre and some of the upper rays are branched at their tips in adults. The scales on the body are rough and the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

reaches the base of the

caudal 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 only ...

. These scorpionfishes vary in size from a

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

of in the curve-spine scorpionfish (''N. procurva'' to a

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 in Folger's scorpionfish (''N. folgeri'').

Distribution and habitat

''Neomerinthe'' scorpionfishes are found throughout the world's oceans except for the Eastern Pacific Ocean. They live in deep water.

References

{{Authority control Scorpaenini Taxa named by Henry Weed Fowler Venomous fish Marine fish genera