''Helicolenus'' is a

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 ...

es 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 ...

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 ...

where they are 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 ...

Sebastinae Sebastinae is a subfamily of marine fish belonging to the Family (biology), family Scorpaenidae in the Order (biology), order Scorpaeniformes. Their common names include rockfishes, rock perches, ocean perches, sea perches, thornyheads, scorpion ...

, the rockfishes. The species in this genus are found 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 ...

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

and

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.

Taxonomy

''Helicolenus'' was described by a genus in 1896 by the American ichthyologists

George Brown Goode George Brown Goode (February 13, 1851 – September 6, 1896), was an American ichthyologist and museum administrator. Early life and family George Brown Goode was born February 13, 1851, in New Albany, Indiana, to Francis Collier Goode and Sarah ...

Tarleton Hoffman Bean Tarleton Hoffman Bean (October 8, 1846 – December 28, 1916) was an American ichthyologist. Biography and education Tarleton Hoffman Bean was born to George Bean and Mary Smith Bean in Bainbridge, Pennsylvania, on October 8, 1846. He attende ...

using ''Scorpaena dactyloptera'' as its

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 ...

which had originally been described by the

Genevan Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and

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 ...

François Étienne Delaroche in 1809. The genus name is a compound of ''helikos'' which means "twisted" or "curved" but meaning "strong" according to Goode and Bean, possibly in error for ''hadros''; and ''oleni'' meaning "elbow" or "arm", an allusion to the "strong pectoral fins" of ''H. dactylopterus''.

Species

There are 9 recognised species: * '' Helicolenus avius'' T. Abe & Eschmeyer, 1972 * '' Helicolenus barathri'' (

Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

, 1875) (bigeye sea perch, Offshore ocean perch, bigeye ocean perch) * '' Helicolenus dactylopterus'' ( Delaroche, 1809) (blackbelly rosefish) * '' Helicolenus fedorovi'' Barsukov, 1973 * '' Helicolenus hilgendorfii'' ( Döderlein ( de), 1884) (Hilgendorf's saucord) * '' Helicolenus lahillei''

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

, 1937 * '' Helicolenus lengerichi''

, 1937 * '' Helicolenus mouchezi'' ( Sauvage, 1875) * '' Helicolenus percoides'' ( J. Richardson & Solander, 1842) (red gurnard perch, Inshore ocean perch, reef ocean perch, jock stewart)

Characteristics

''Helicolenus'' fishes have a large head which bears spiny ridges and has a large mouth. There are 5 spines on the posterior and lower margin of the preoperculum and two obvious spines close to the posterior of the operculum. 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 ...

s have 11-13 robust spines and 10 to 14 soft rays. Species in this genius vary in length from a

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

of in ''H. fedorovi'' and ''H. hilgendorfii'' up to 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 in ''H. dactylopterus''.

Distribution and habitat

''Helicolenus'' rockfishes are found in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. They are benthic, demersal and bathydemersal fishes.

Biology

''Helicolenus'' rockfishes are ovoviviparous and fertilisation is internal. They are predators of cephalopods, echinoderms, crustaceans and fishes. They have been known to live for up to 42 years.

Fisheries

''Helicolenus'' rockfishes are commercially important species in fisheries in some regions such as southern Australia.

References

{{Authority control Sebastini Marine fish genera Taxa named by George Brown Goode Taxa named by Tarleton Hoffman Bean