''Bovichtus angustifrons'', the dragonet, horny, horny thornfish, marblefish, thornfish or variegated marblefish, is a species 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 ...

, a temperate icefish or thornfish, 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 ...

Bovichtidae Bovichtidae, the temperate icefishes or thornfishes, is a family of marine ray-finned fishes, classified in the suborder Notothenioidei of the order Perciformes. They are native to coastal waters off Australia, New Zealand, and South America ...

. It is endemic to southeastern Australia and

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

on rocky reefs in shallow waters.

Taxonomy

''Bovichtus angustifrons'' was first formally described in 1913 by the 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, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

Charles Tate Regan Charles Tate Regan (1 February 1878 – 12 January 1943) was a British ichthyology, ichthyologist, working mainly around the beginning of the 20th century. He did extensive work on fish classification schemes. Born in Sherborne, Dorset, he was ...

with the type locality given as Tasmania. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''angustifrons'' is a compound of ''angustus'' which means narrow and ''frons''meaning "front", "face" or "brow", a reference to the narrower space between the eyes in comparison with '' B. diacanthus'' and '' B. variegatus''.

Description

''Bovichtus angustifrons'' has a large head and a thick anterior part of the body, the body tapers towards 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 ...

. There is an obvious spine on upper angle on the margin of the operculum and it has large eyes. The pelvic fins are large, originating under and before the

pectoral fins 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 b ...

. There are no scales. There are 8 spines in the first

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 ...

and 18-19 soft rays in the second dorsal fin while the

anal 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 o ...

has 18 soft rays. This species attains a maximum

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 . It is a camouflaged species which may vary in colour from pale bluish-grey to pale brown with darker mottling, spotting or blotching which is reddish to brown. The juveniles are a drab grey-brown in colour.

Distribution and habitat

''Bovichtus angustifrons'' is endemic southern Australia where it is found from Green Cape in southern

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

to about Ceduna in the

Great Australian Bight The Great Australian Bight is a large oceanic bight (geography), bight, or open bay, off the central and western portions of the southern Coast, coastline of mainland Australia. There are two definitions for its extent—one by the Internation ...

on the coast of

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 ...

. It is also found around

. It occurs on shallow rocky reefs and is frequently observed in tidepools and around the pylons of jetties. It lives at depths down to .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1856453 angustifrons Marine fish of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Fish of the Indian Ocean Fish of the Pacific Ocean Fish described in 1913 Taxa named by Charles Tate Regan