The spikey bass (''Hypopterus macropterus'') is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
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 ...
in the family
Latidae
The Latidae, known as the lates perches, are a family of perch-like fish found in Africa, Asia, and the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. Including about 13 species, the family, previously classified subfamily Latinae in family Centropomidae, w ...
, the lates perches. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to coastal waters off
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, where it inhabits areas with soft substrates. It is the only species in the
monotypic genus
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 "unispe ...
''Hypopterus''.
[
]
Description
The spikey bass is an olive brown bass-like fish fading pale silvery below, each scale is marked with a dark oval spot and there are eight indistinct vertical bands along the head and body. This species has a deeper body than other species in the Latidae. It grows to 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 .
Distribution and habitat
The spikey bass is endemic to the eastern Indian Ocean off the coast of northwestern Australia. It prefers demersal and temperate waters.
Etymology and taxonomy
The spikey bass’s generic name ''Hypopterus'' derives from the Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
''hypo'' (under) and ''pteron'' (wing or fin).[This species was first formally described as ''Psammoperca macroptera'' in 1859 by the ]German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
born British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
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 ...
Albert Günther
Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther , also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther (3October 18301February 1914), was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. Günther is ranked the second-most productive reptile tax ...
(1830-1914), with the type locality given as "Victora", meaning Port Essington
Port Essington is an inlet and historic site located on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory. It was the site of an early attempt at British settlement, but now exists only as a remot ...
in the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
but is actually thought to be Shark Bay
Shark Bay () is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The area is located approximately north of Perth, on the westernmost point of the Australian continent.
UNESCO's listing of Shark Bay as a World Heritage S ...
in Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
.[ ]Theodore Nicholas Gill
Theodore Nicholas Gill (March 21, 1837 – September 25, 1914) was an American ichthyologist, mammalogist, malacologist, and librarian.
Career
Born and educated in New York City under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural histor ...
described the monospecific
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 "unispe ...
genus ''Hypopterus'' for this Australian endemic taxon in 1861.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3055371
Latidae
Marine fish of Western Australia
spikey bass
Taxa named by Albert Günther