Rainfordia
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The rainfordia (''Rainfordia opercularis''), also known as the flathead perch or Rainford's perch, is a species of marine
ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...
, related to the
grouper Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is ...
s and classified within the subfamily
Epinephelinae Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is ...
of the
family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Serranidae The Serranidae are a large family of fishes belonging to the order Perciformes. The family contains about 450 species in 65 genera, including the sea basses and the groupers (subfamily Epinephelinae). Although many species are small, in some ca ...
. It is found in the eastern Indian Ocean and in the
Western Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. It is the only species in its
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 "unispe ...
genus.


Description

The rainfordia has an overall dark orange colour broken by six black-margined lilac stripes along each flank, the background orange colour is darkest on the centre of the flanks, fading to yellow on the back and belly. The spines in the
dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...
are yellowish with a transparent membrane between them. The second dorsal fin has a dark base and a wide-angled yellow band just short of its edge which runs from the first soft ray to the tip of the seventh soft ray. The edge itself is whitish in colour and the remaining soft rays are reddish-brown. The anal fin shows a similar pattern to the dorsal fin. The
pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...
s and the pelvic fin are pinkish yellow in colour. There is a black, blue-edged eyespot at the base of the tail. The
caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...
is brown with its outer margin having a white edge at its corners. This species is also characterised by the forward placement of its eyes and its wide mouth. It attains a maximum recorded
total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...
of .


Distribution

The rainfordia is found in the Indian Ocean off
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
from Kendrew Island in the
Dampier Archipelago The Dampier Archipelago is a group of 42 islands near the town of Dampier in the Pilbara, Western Australia. The archipelago is also made up of reefs, shoals, channels and straits and is the traditional home of five Aboriginal language group ...
to Kimberley and in eastern Australia from the northern
Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
and reefs in the Coral Sea, as far south as
Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...
in
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...
. It was thought to be
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found else ...
to Australia but in 2019 it was recorded in the
Raja Ampat Islands Raja Ampat, or the ''Four Kings'', is an archipelago located off the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia's Southwest Papua , Southwest Papua province. It comprises over 1,500 small islands, cays, and sh ...
of West Papua in Indonesia.


Habitat and biology

The rainfordia occurs in inshore waters where it is found in caves and crevices in coral reefs and is generally solitary.


Taxonomy

The rainfordia was first described in 1923 by the Australian ichthyologist Allan Riverstone McCulloch (1885–1925) with the type locality given as the Middle Island, Edgecumbe Bay, Whitsunday Passage, Queensland. It is the only species in the genus ''Rainfordia'' which McCulloch named after the collector the type, Mr H.L. Rainford. McCulloch originally placed it as being related to the genus '' Grammistes'' but in its own monotypic family, the Rainfordidae, but it is now placed within the
tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...
Liopropomini.


Utilisation

The rainfordia is a rare species in the wild and in captivity and fetches high prices in the aquarium trade but they have been successfully bred in captivity.


References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q1808343, from2=Q2645490 Liopropomini Monotypic ray-finned fish genera