Jordania Zonope
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The longfin sculpin (''Jordania zonope'') 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 ...
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 ...
Jordaniidae Jordaniidae is a small Family (biology), family of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the Order (biology), order Perciformes. These fishes are found in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy Jordaniidae was first proposed as a subfamily, Jo ...
, a small family of
sculpin A sculpin is a type of fish that belongs to the superfamily Cottoidea in the order Perciformes.Kane, E. A. and T. E. Higham. (2012)Life in the flow lane: differences in pectoral fin morphology suggest transitions in station-holding demand acros ...
s. This species is found in the northeastern
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, 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 ...
. This species is the only known member of its genus, ''Jordania''.


Taxonomy

The longfin sculpin was first formally described in 1895 by the American
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 ...
Edwin Chapin Starks Edwin Chapin Starks (born in Baraboo, Wisconsin on January 25, 1867; died December 29, 1932) was an ichthyologist most associated with Stanford University. He was known as an authority on the osteology of fish. He also did studies of fish of the ...
with its type locality given as Point Orchard in
Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...
near
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
,
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
. Starks classified this new species in the new
monospecific 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 ...
''Jordania''. This genus is one of two monospecific genera classified within the family Jordaniidae.


Etymology

The longfin sculpin's genus name, ''Jordania'', honours
David Starr Jordan David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Universi ...
who Starks said was his "teacher in ichthyology". Starks did not explain his choice of
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 ...
but in 1898 Jordan and
Barton Warren Evermann Barton Warren Evermann (October 24, 1853 – September 27, 1932) was an American ichthyologist. Early life and education Evermann was born in Monroe County, Iowa in 1853. His family moved to Indiana while he was still a child and it was ...
suggested that it was a compound of ''zona'', "zone" or "band", and ''opi'', meaning "window" or "hole", an allusion to the dark bar half as wide as eye, running from eye downward across cheek to anterior end of interopercle, edged on each side by a pale streak.


Description

The longfin sculpin has a long slender body with a long
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 ...
and 2
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. The dorsal fins contain 17 or 18 spines and between 15 and 17 soft rays while the anal fin contains 22 to 24 soft rays and no spines. The overall color of the body is olive-green broken with sinuous red bands on the back. The head has 3 stripes below the eye. The yellow-orange, long anal fin contrasts with the body. They change colour at night, darkening to gain better camouflage. This species attains a maximum
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 .


Distribution and habitat

The longfin sculpin is found in the eastern North Pacific Ocean occurring from
Baranof Island Baranof Island is an island in the northern Alexander Archipelago in the Alaska Panhandle, in Alaska. The name "Baranof" was given to the island in 1805 by Imperial Russian Navy captain Yuri Lisyansky, U. F. Lisianski in honor of Alexander Andrey ...
in southeastern Alaska to
Point Lobos Point Lobos and the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is a state park in California. Adjoining Point Lobos is "one of the richest marine habitats in California". The ocean habitat is protected by two marine protected areas, the Point Lobos Sta ...
in
central California Central California is generally thought of as the middle third of the U.S. state of California, north of Southern California (which includes Los Angeles and San Diego) and south of Northern California (which includes San Francisco and San Jose, ...
. It is a
demersal fish Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 They oc ...
found at depths of in rocky areas and among
kelp Kelps are large brown algae or seaweeds that make up the order (biology), order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genus, genera. Despite its appearance and use of photosynthesis in chloroplasts, kelp is technically not a plant but a str ...
.


Biology

The longfin sculpin is adapted morphologically and behaviourally to inhabit a variety of rock surfaces and to feed on an array of prey types. Their colour and pattern blends well with their preferred habitats. They are mostly found on rock faces, and there its coloration helps to camouflage it from predators. The male darkens in color during courtship and guards the eggs mass. The diet of this fish is made up of benthic arthropods such as crabs, hermit crabs, isopods and shrimp These are broken up with bites rather than being swallowed entirely. they are also known to act as
cleaner fish Cleaner fish are fish that show a specialist feeding strategy by providing a service to other species, referred to as clients, by removing dead skin, ectoparasites, and infected tissue from the surface or gill chambers. This example of cleaning ...
on larger fishes such as the
lingcod The lingcod or ling cod (''Ophiodon elongatus'') is a fish of the greenling family Hexagrammidae. Despite its name, the lingcod is neither a cod nor a ling. It is also known as the buffalo cod, cultus cod, or Buckethead. It is the only extant me ...
(''Ophidion elongatus'').


References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q16218108, from2=Q145389 Jordaniidae Taxa named by Edwin Chapin Starks Fish of the North Pacific Fauna of Western Canada Fish described in 1895