genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
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 ...
,
hawkfish
Cirrhitidae, the hawkfishes, are a Family (biology), family of marine ray-finned fishes found in tropical seas and which are associated with coral reefs.
Taxonomy
The Cirrhitidae were first recognised as a family by the Scotland, Scots-born Aust ...
es, from 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 ...
Cirrhitidae
Cirrhitidae, the hawkfishes, are a family of marine ray-finned fishes found in tropical seas and which are associated with coral reefs.
Taxonomy
The Cirrhitidae were first recognised as a family by the Scots-born Australian naturalist William ...
. They are found on
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...
s in the
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Associated with India
* of or related to India
** Indian people
** Indian diaspora
** Languages of India
** Indian English, a dialect of the English language
** Indian cuisine
Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
and western
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five 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 bounded by the cont ...
oceans. Some species can be found in the aquarium trade.
Taxonomy
''Cirrhitichthys'' was first formally described in 1857 by the
Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
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 ...
Pieter Bleeker
Pieter Bleeker (10 July 1819 – 24 January 1878) was a Dutch medical doctor, Ichthyology, ichthyologist, and Herpetology, herpetologist. He was famous for the ''Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises'', his monumental work on ...
. The
type species
In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, 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 spe ...
designated by Bleeker was ''Cirrhites graphidopterus'' which had been described by him in 1853, although this taxon has subsequently been considered a
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely 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 a ...
of ''Cirrhites aprinus'' which
Georges Cuvier
Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...
had described in 1829. The name of this genus is a compound of ''
Cirrhitus
''Cirrhitus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, hawkfishes from the family Cirrhitidae. The species in this genus are found on tropical reefs worldwide.
Taxonomy
''Cirrhites'' was first formally described as a genus in 1803 by the French n ...
'', referring to the similarity between the two genera, although there are differences in dentition, and ''ichthys'' meaning “fish”.
Temminck
Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch patrician, zoologist and museum director.
Biography
Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. From his father, Jacob ...
&
Schlegel
Schlegel is a German occupational surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Anthony Schlegel (born 1981), American football player
* August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845), German poet, brother of Friedrich
* Brad Schlegel (born 1968), C ...
Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Cirrhitichthys randalli'' Kotthaus, 1976
Characteristics
''Cirrhitichthys'' hawkfishes have an oval, moderately compressed body with a sharp, more or less straight-profiled snout. The anterior nostril has a tuft of cirri on its posterior margin. The mouth is moderately large with a row of small canine-like teeth on the jaws and a band of simple teeth within the outer band. There are patches of teeth on the middle and sides of the roof of the mouth. The margin of the
preoperculum
This glossary of ichthyology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in ichthyology, the study of fishes.
A
B
C
...
has quite large serrations and the gill cover has 2 flattened spines. The
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 ...
is continuous, with 10 spines and 11-12 soft rays, there is a slight incision between the spines and the soft rays. The membranes between the dorsal fin spines deeply notched and each spine has a sizeable tuft of cirri at its tip. 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 3 spines and 5-7 soft rays. 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 ...
is
truncate
In mathematics and computer science, truncation is limiting the number of digits right of the decimal point.
Truncation and floor function
Truncation of positive real numbers can be done using the floor function. Given a number x \in \mathbb ...
. The lower 5-7
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 are robust with deep incisions in the membranes between them and they are notably longer than the other rays. The upper 1-2 and lower 6-7 pectoral fin rays are simple. 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 and has its origin to the rear of the base of the pectoral fin. Their
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 ...
''Cirrhitichthys'' hawkfishes are mainly found in the
Indo-West 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 s ...
with one species, the coral hawkfish (''C. oxycephalus'') extending into the eastern Pacific. These fishes are associated with coral and rocky habitats.
Biology
''Cirrhitichthys'' hawkfishes are predatory, using the "sit and wait" technique to ambush benthic prey which can be invertebrates or fish, perching on their thickened lower pectoral fin rays among sponges and corals. They are protogynous hermaphrodites, all start out as female and live in harems, if the male is lost the largest and more dominant female will change sex. They are pelagic spawners rising upwards into the water column in pairs to spawn.
Utilisation
''Cirrhitichthys'' hawkfishes are collected for the
aquarium
An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...