''Rhycherus'' 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 fishes
Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class (biology), class of Osteichthyes, bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built ...
belonging to the
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...
Histiophryninae
Histiophryninae, the star-fingered frogfishes, is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Antennariidae, the frogfishes. The species in this family are found in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.
Taxonomy
Histiophryni ...
in 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 ...
Antennariidae, the frogfishes. The fishes in this genus are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the waters off Australia. This genus is classified in the
monogeneric
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
family Rhycheridae, the Balrog frogfishes, by some authorities.
Taxonomy
''Rhycherus'' was first proposed as a
monospecific genus
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
in 1907 by the Australian
ichthyologist
Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...
James Douglas Ogilby
James Douglas Ogilby (16 February 1853 – 11 August 1925) was an Australian ichthyologist and herpetologist.
Ogilby was born in Belfast, Ireland, and was the son of zoologist William Ogilby and his wife Adelaide, née Douglas. He received ...
when he
described ''Rhycherus wildii''.
[ ''R. wildii'' had its type locality given as ]South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
, this taxon is now considered to be a junior synonym
In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
...
of ''Chironectes filamentosus'', originally described by François-Louis Laporte, comte de Castelnau
François-Louis Nompar de Caumont Laporte, comte de Castelnau (born ''François-Louis Nompar de Caumont La Force''; 24 December 1802 – 4 February 1880) was a French natural history, naturalist, also known as François Laporte or Francis de Caste ...
in 1872 from St Vincent Gulf in South Australia.monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...
family Rhycheridae.[ However, the 5th edition of '']Fishes of the World
''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...
'' does not recognise subfamilies within the Antennariidae, instead classifying the family, including this genus, within the suborder
Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...
Antennarioidei
Antennarioidei is a suborder of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes.
Taxonomy
Antennarioidei was first proposed as a taxonomic grouping in 1912 by the English ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan. The 5th e ...
and the order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
...
Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes.
Etymology
''Rhycherus'' is Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
and means "ragged", an allusion to the shaggy appearance of ''R. filamentosus''.
Species
''Rhycherus'' currently has two recognized species classified within it:
Characteristics
''Rhycherus'' anglerfishes' second and third dorsal spines are not hidden underneath their skin. All of the fin rays in their 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 ...
are forked. They have smooth skin with many closely set cutaneous appendages instead of dermal denticles. Their third dorsal spin is mostly free, with only the basal quarter to third connected to the nape by a membrane.[ The largest species in the genus is ''R. filamentosus'', which has a maximum published total length of .][
]
Distribution and habitat
''Rhycherus'' anglerfishes are endemic to Australia. ''R. filamentosus'' is found in southeastern Australia[
]
Biology
''Rhycherus'' anglerfish are oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...
. The eggs laid by the females are large, and each egg is adhered to the surface of a rock by a long filament. The male then guards the eggs with his body, protecting him until the offspring emerge. Like other anglerfish, these fish are ambush predator
Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture their prey via stealth, luring or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey u ...
s, luring in prey with their illicium or esca.[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3525934
Histiophryninae
Marine fish genera
Taxa named by James Douglas Ogilby