''Caracanthus typicus'', the Hawaiian orbicular velvetfish, 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 ...

, an oribicular velvetfish, belonging to 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 ...

Scorpaenidae The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a family of mostly 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 spines coated with venom ...

. This species is

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 els ...

to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost ...

Taxonomy

''Caracanthus typicus'' was first formally described in 1845 by the Danish

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 ...

Henrik Nikolai Krøyer Henrik Nikolai Krøyer (22 March 1799 – 14 November 1870) was a Danish zoologist. Born in Copenhagen, he was a brother of the composer Hans Ernst Krøyer. He started studying medicine at the University of Copenhagen in 1817, which he later cha ...

with the

type locality Type locality may refer to: * Type locality (biology) * Type locality (geology) See also * Local (disambiguation) * Locality (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

given as the Hawaiian Islands. Kroyer also described a new

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 "unispec ...

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 ...

, ''

Caracanthus ''Caracanthus'', the coral crouchers, or orbicular velvetfishes, are a genus of ray-finned fishes. They live in coral reefs of the tropical Indo-Pacific. This genus is the only member of the monotypic subfamily Caracanthinae, part of the family ...

'', when he described this species, so it is 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( ...

of that genus and of the subfamily

Caracanthinae ''Caracanthus'', the coral crouchers, or orbicular velvetfishes, are a genus of ray-finned fishes. They live in coral reefs of the tropical Indo-Pacific. This genus is the only member of the monotypic subfamily Caracanthinae, part of the family ...

of the family Scorpaenidae. The specific name ''typicus'' denotes that this species is the type species of its genus.

Description

''Caracanthus typicus'' has a laterally compressed, disc-shaped, gray body covered with small red spots. This species has skin covered with papillae that produce a velvety texture. The closely related ''

Caracanthus maculatus ''Caracanthus'', the coral crouchers, or orbicular velvetfishes, are a genus of ray-finned fishes. They live in coral reefs of the tropical Indo-Pacific. This genus is the only member of the monotypic subfamily Caracanthinae, part of the family ...

'' tends to have smaller and more numerous spots that are dark red to dark brown. The Hawaiian orbicular velvetfish can reach a length of .Randall (2007). Reef and Shore Fishes of the Hawaiian Islands.

Distribution and habitat

''Caracanthus typicus'' is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands in the eastern central Pacific Ocean where it inhabits reefs as a

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

species which usually lives among the branches of the cauliflower coral (''

Pocillopora meandrina ''Pocillopora meandrina'', commonly known as cauliflower coral, is a species of coral occurring in the Indo-Pacific and Pacific oceans. This coral lives in shallow reef environments. Description The colonies of ''P. meandrina'' can be fairly sol ...

'').

Biology

''Caracanthus typicus'' will move deeper into the coral if disturbed and it has

venomous 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 ...

spines in its fins.

Conservation

''Caracanthus typicus'' is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, being associated with coral reefs, and, in particular, the cauliflower coral. Based on the area of coral reef in the Hawaiian Islands, this species has a very limited distributio which is near to the threshold for the IUCN to classify it as

Vulnerable Vulnerable may refer to: General * Vulnerability * Vulnerability (computing) * Vulnerable adult * Vulnerable species Music Albums * ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997 * ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003 * ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...

. There have been localised declines in coral cover due to overfishing, climate change, pollution and invasive species in Hawaii and it is thought that there has been a continuing decline in habitat quality. Due to the ain threat of habitat degradation, it is estimated that this species occurs at between 2 and 6 locations and the IUCN list this species as

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2465906 Caracanthinae Taxa named by Henrik Nikolai Krøyer