The blackspotted hawkfish (''Cristacirrhitus punctatus'') 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
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
. It is native to rocky shores of the western
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. This species grows to in
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 ...
. This species is the only known member of its
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 ...
.
Taxonomy
The blackspotted hawkfish was first formally
described in 1829 as ''Cirrhitus punctatus'' by the
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
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 ...
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 ...
with the
type locality given as Madagascar.
In 2001
John Ernest Randall
John Ernest "Jack" Randall (May 22, 1924 – April 26, 2020) was an American ichthyologist and a leading authority on coral reef fishes. Randall described over 800 species and authored 11 books and over 900 scientific papers and popular articles. ...
placed it in 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 "unisp ...
genus, ''Cristacirrhitus''.
The genus name is a
compound
Compound may refer to:
Architecture and built environments
* Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall
** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...
of ''crista'' meaning "crest", a reference to the ridge of bone over the eye and ''
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 ...
'' the
type genus
In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name.
Zoological nomenclature
According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...
of the family Cirrhitidae, in which genus Cuvier had originally placed it. 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 ...
''punctatus'' means "spotted", a reference to brown blotches and black spots this species has.
Description
The black spotted hawkfish has a snout which is not overly elongated and a deep body. The mouth has an outer row of canine teeth and an inner row of much smaller villiform teeth, the canines are notably larger at the front of the upper jaw and side of the lower jaw. There are two rows of
cirri and a flap on the posterior edge of the anterior nostril. 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 or rounded. The lowest 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 unbranched and robust, the pectoral fins are long reaching past the tips of 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 ...
s.
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 ...
has 10 spines and 11 soft rays 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 3 spies and 6 soft rays.
[ There is an obvious bony ridge, starting to the rear of the eye and having a length equal to of half the diameter of the eye.][
]
Distribution and habitat
The blackspotted hawkfish is found in the western Indian Ocean on rocky shorelines in South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion.[
]
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q639409, from2=Q2045711
Cirrhitidae
Fish described in 1829
Taxa named by Georges Cuvier