Choridactylini, commonly known as stingfishes, stingers or ghouls, is a

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

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

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 ...

es classified within the

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 ...

Synanceiinae Synanceiinae is a subfamily of venomous ray-finned fishes, waspfishes, which is classified as part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific oceans. They are primarily mari ...

, the stonefishes, part of 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 their relatives. These fishes are found in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

Taxonomy

''Choridactylini'' was first recognised as a taxonomic grouping in 1859 by the German

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Johann Jakob Kaup Johann Jakob von Kaup (10 April 1803 – 4 July 1873) was a German naturalist. A proponent of natural philosophy, he believed in an innate mathematical order in nature and he attempted biological classifications based on the Quinarian system. Kaup ...

. The 5th edition of the ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

'' treats this taxon as a tribe within the subfamily Synanceiinae which it, in turn, treats as being classified in the family Scorpaneanidae. Other authorities treat it as a subfamily, Choridactylinae, of the family Synanceiidae. The name of this taxon is based on that of the genus ''Choridactylus'', described by John Richardson in 1848, which is made up of ''choris'', meaning "separated", and ''dactylus'', which means "finger", and allusion to the detached

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 of ''Choridactylus multibarbus'', a feature which "readily distinguished" it from other stonefishes known to Richardson.

Genera

Choridactylini has 2

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

classified within it: * '' Choridactylus'' Richardson, 1848 * '' Inimicus''

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

& Starks, 1904

Characteristics

Choridactylini stingfishes are characterised by having bodies and heads which are almost completely naked having almost no scales other than the 13 to 15 widely spaced and embedded scales which make up the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

and the clumps of other buried scales, which manifest as warts or tufts scattered on the upper body. They have 12 to 18 spines and 5 to10 soft rays in their

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 ...

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 2 spines and 8 to 13 soft rays. There are 12 fin rays in the

s with the lower rays separated (2 separate rays in ''Inimicus'' or 3 in ''Choridactylus''). The

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

has a single spine and 5 soft rays. The majority of the fin rays are branched. These fishes vary in size from a

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 to .

Distribution and habitat

Choridactylini are found in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans in shallow coastal waters over sandy substrates.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17127664 Scorpaenidae Taxa named by Johann Jakob Kaup Fish tribes