''Dendrochirus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family

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 ...

, the scorpionfishes. They are mostly known as turkeyfishes or pygmy lionfishes. They are native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. They are also popular

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''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. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

fish.

Taxonomy

''Dendrochirus'' was described as a genus in 1839 by the English naturalist

William John Swainson William John Swainson FLS, FRS (8 October 1789 – 6 December 1855), was an English ornithologist, malacologist, conchologist, entomologist and artist. Life Swainson was born in Dover Place, St Mary Newington, London, the eldest son of ...

. Swainson also named the genera ''Brachirus'' and ''Brachyrus'' in the same work but in later pages. In 1876 Pieter Bleeker revised the genus and chose ''Dendrochirus'' as the name for the genus. In 1882 Joseph Swain designated ''Pterois zebra'', described by

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". Cuvier ...

from Mauritius in 1829, as the type species of ''Brachyrus'' which he considered to be a synonym of ''Pterois''. This genus is classified within the tribe Pteroini of 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 subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Scorpaeninae within the family Scorpaenidae. Some authorities divide the genus into two

subgenera In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

, the subgenus ''Dendrochirus'' containing all the species except ''D. biocellatus'' which is in the monotypic subgenus '' Nemapterois'' which was created by

Henry Weed Fowler Henry Weed Fowler (March 23, 1878 – June 21, 1965) was an American zoologist born in Holmesburg, Pennsylvania. He studied at Stanford University under David Starr Jordan. He joined the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and worked as ...

in 1938. This genus and the genus ''Petrois'' are closely related and it has been suggested that they form a single genus, ''Pterois''. The genus name is a compound of ''dendro'', meaning “tree”, and ''cheirus'', which means “hand”, originally this genus was considered to be a subgenus of ''Pterois'' with branched rays in the pectoral fin.

Species

Eight species are recognized in this genus:

Characteristics

''Dendrochirus'' lionfishes are characterised by typically having 13 spines and 9 or 10 soft rays in the dorsal fin and 3 spines and 5 or 6 soft rays in the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

. The spines on the parietal bon are not high and the lower jaw has no ridges, spines or scales. There are between 17 and 19 fin rays in the pectoral fins and the middle fin rays are branched. These fishes vary in length from a

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

of in the Ogasawara dwarf-lionfish (''D. koyo'') to in the zebra turkeyfish (''D. zebra'').

Distribution and habitat

''Dendrochirus'' lionfishes are found in the Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea and the western Indian Ocean to Hawaii and

Johnston Atoll Johnston Atoll is an Unincorporated territories of the United States, unincorporated territory of the United States, currently administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Johnston Atoll is a National Wildlife Refuge and ...

.They tend to be associated with hard substrates such as coral rocks and rubble.

Utilisation

Dendrochirus lionfishes are popular species in the aquarium hobby.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q780690 Pteroini Venomous fish Marine fish genera Taxa named by William John Swainson