Apistinae, the wasp scorpionfishes, is a

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 ...

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

ous, marine ray-finned fishes 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 and related species. These fishes are native to the

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), ...

and the western

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

Apistinae, or Apsitidae, was first formally recognised as a taxonomic grouping in 1859 by the American ichthyologist Theodore Gill. The 5th edition of Fishes of the World treats this as a subfamily of the scorpionfish

, although other authorities treat it as a valid family, the Apistidae. The name of the subfamily is based on the genus name ''Apistus'', which means "untrustworthy" or "perfidious", a name Cuvier explained as being due to the long and mobile spines around the eyes, which he described as "very offensive weapons that these fish use when you least expect it". A recent study placed the wasp scorpionfishes into an expanded stonefish clade (Synanceiidae) because all of these fish have a lachrymal saber that can project a switch-blade-like mechanism out from underneath their eye.

Genera

Apistinae contains the following 3

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 ...

genera: * '' Apistops'' Ogilby, 1911 * '' Apistus'' Cuvier, 1829 * '' Cheroscorpaena'' Mees, 1964

Characteristics

Apistinae species have either 1 or 3 lower

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 ...

rays which are free of the fin membrane and a swimbladder with 2 lobes. They are fairly small fishes reaching lengths of TL in the humpback waspfish to TL in the ocellated waspfish.

Distribution and habitat

Apistinae species are found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans from the Red Sea and the eastern coast of Africa east in to the western Pacific Ocean, north to Japan and south to Australia. They are demersal species of the continental shelf and may be found over soft substrates or on reefs.

References

External links

Photos of Apistus carinatus (Bearded waspfish or Longfin waspfish)
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q389032 Ray-finned fish subfamilies