''Aplodactylus'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
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 ...
es, commonly known as marblefishes or sea carps. It is the only genus in the
monogeneric 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 ...
, Aplodactylidae. The fishes in this genus are found in the south eastern Indian Ocean and the southern Pacific Ocean.
Taxonomy
Aplodactylus was described in 1832 by the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
zoologist
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...
Achille Valenciennes with ''Aplodactylus punctatus'', which Valenciennes
described from the
type specimen
In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...
collected from
Valparaiso in Chile, as its only species, being the
type species
In 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 species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
by
monotypy
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 ...
.
The family had previously contained two genera with the monospecific
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 ...
''Crinodon'' being recognised as a synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...
of ''Aplodactylus'' by Barry C. Russell in 2000. The family, Aplodactylidae was created as Haplodactylidae by the German born British 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, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of October ...
Albert Günther
Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS, also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther (3 October 1830 – 1 February 1914), was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. Günther is ranked th ...
in 1859, the Dutch ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker
Pieter Bleeker (10 July 1819 – 24 January 1878) was a Dutch medical doctor, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He was famous for the ''Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises'', his monumental work on the fishes of East Asia ...
corrected that to its current name later the same year.[ The family is regarded as part of the ]superfamily
SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...
Cirrhitoidea
Cirrhitoidea is a superfamily within the suborder Percoidei of the large order of ray-finned fishes, the Perciformes.
Systematics
The Cirrhitoidera has been considered to be a superfamily within the large order Perciformes, within the suborder Per ...
, which is placed within the order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...
Perciformes
Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means ...
in the 5th Edition of ''Fishes of the World
''Fishes of the World'' by the American Ichthyology, ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classificat ...
'', however other authorities place this clade within a new order within the wider Percomorpha
Percomorpha () is a large clade of ray-finned fish that includes the tuna, seahorses, gobies, cichlids, flatfish, wrasse, perches, anglerfish, and pufferfish.
Evolution
Percomorpha are the most diverse group of teleost fish today. Teleosts, a ...
, Centrarchiformes
Centrarchiformes is an obsolete order of ray-finned fish, now included amongst the perciformes, with 17 previously included families. This order first appeared about 55.8 million years ago in the Eocene Era, and is composed primarily of omnivore ...
. The genus name is a compound of ''aploe'' meaning "single" or "simple" and ''daktylos'' meaning "finger", a reference to the unbranched lower pectoral fin rays of the type species.
Species
The five currently recognized species in this genus are:
* ''Aplodactylus arctidens
''Aplodactylus arctidens'', the marblefish or southern seacarp, is a species of marine ray finned fish, one of the marblefishes belonging to the family Aplodactylidae. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
Taxonomy
''Aplodactylus arc ...
'' J. Richardson, 1839 (marblefish)
* ''Aplodactylus etheridgii
The notchheaded marblefish (''Aplodactylus etheridgii'') is a species of marine ray finned fish, one of the marblefishes belonging to the family Aplodactylidae. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
Taxonomy
The notchheaded marblefis ...
'' ( J. D. Ogilby, 1889) (notchheaded marblefish)
* ''Aplodactylus lophodon
The rock cale (''Aplodactylus lophodon''), also known as the cockatoo fish, cocky, joey, rock cocky or sea carp, is a species of marine ray finned fish, one of the marblefishes belonging to the family Aplodactylidae. It is found in the southwes ...
'' Günther, 1859 (rock cale)
* '' Aplodactylus punctatus'' Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...
, 1832 (Zamba marblefish)
* '' Aplodactylus westralis'' B. C. Russell, 1987 (western seacarp)
Characteristics
''Aplodactylus'' species are characterised by a relatively long, deep and compressed body ending in a small, blunt head. They have a small mouth, which is placed just below the short snout, with a thick upper lip. They have a long 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 ...
with a deep incision between the spiny and soft rayed portions. The anal 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 ...
is short based and triangular in shape while 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 are large and have a rounded shape,[ and their lower fin rays are not joined by membranes and are robust. The ]pelvic fin
Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods.
Structure and function Structure
In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two e ...
s are located quite far to the rear of the base of the pectoral fins.[ They have small scales which are embedded in their skin and which extend onto the cheeks, as well as forming a scaly sheath at the base of the dorsal fin.] The dorsal fins have 14-23 spines and 16-21 soft rays while the anal fin has 6-8 soft rays. They have vomerine teeth
The vomer (; lat, vomer, lit=ploughshare) is one of the unpaired facial bones of the skull. It is located in the midsagittal line, and articulates with the sphenoid, the ethmoid, the left and right palatine bones, and the left and right maxil ...
and the teeth in the jaws vary in shape and can be incisor-like, sharply pointed or tricuspid
The tricuspid valve, or right atrioventricular valve, is on the right dorsal side of the mammalian heart, at the superior portion of the right ventricle. The function of the valve is to allow blood to flow from the right atrium to the right vent ...
.[ They vary in size from a ]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 in the Western seacarp
Western may refer to:
Places
* Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
* Western world, countries that ...
to in the marblefish
''Aplodactylus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, commonly known as marblefishes or sea carps. It is the only genus in the monogeneric family, Aplodactylidae. The fishes in this genus are found in the south eastern Indian Ocean and the ...
.[
]
Distribution and habitat
''Aplodactylus'' is found in the south eastern Indian Ocean off Western Australia and in the southern Pacific Ocean off Australia, New Zealand and eastern South America.[ These are fishes of shallow inshore waters, typically on rocky coastlines.][
]
Biology
''Apolidactylus'' fishes are herbivorous and feed on algae. The species may be sociable and from aggregations or they can be solitary and territorial.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2411631
Taxa named by Albert Günther
Cirrhitoidea