''Kurtus'' 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 percomorph

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

es, called the nurseryfishes, forehead brooders, or incubator fish, native to fresh,

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

and coastal marine waters ranging from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, through southeast Asia, to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and northern Australia. ''Kurtus'' is currently the only known genus in the family Kurtidae, one of two families in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Kurtiformes The Apogonoidei is a suborder of Gobiiformes, gobiiform fish consisting of two families: the Indo-Pacific Kurtidae (consisting solely of two species in the genus ''Kurtus'') and the much more diverse and widespread Apogonidae (the cardinalfishes) ...

. They are famous for carrying their egg clusters on hooks protruding from the forehead ( supraoccipital) of the males, although this only has been documented in ''K. gulliveri'' and available evidence strongly suggests this is not done by ''K. indicus'' (where the hook likely also is too small to carry embryos).Berra, Tim (2003). ''Nurseryfish, Kurtus gulliveri (Perciformes: Kurtidae), from northern Australia: redescription, distribution, egg mass, and comparison with K. indicus from southeast Asia.'' Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters 14(4): 295–306. Females do not have a hook. Nurseryfish in net

In addition to the egg hook, the kurtid

gas bladder The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled organ in bony fish that functions to modulate buoyancy, and thus allowing the fish to stay at desired water depth without having to maintain lift via swimming, ...

is enclosed in a tubular bony structure evolved from the ribs. In both species, the back is elevated into a hump shape. Despite their unusual reproductive habits, little is known about these species. Historically, they have proven very difficult to keep alive in aquaria, although recent success with ''K. gulliveri'' has been achieved by

Tokyo Sea Life Park is a public aquarium located in Kasai Rinkai Park, Edogawa, Tokyo, Edogawa Ward, Tokyo. Its predecessor was the Ueno Aquarium in the Ueno Zoo. The building was designed by Yoshio Taniguchi. The aquarium is accredited as a museum-equivalent facil ...

in Japan.

Species

The currently recognized species in this genus are: * ''

Kurtus gulliveri ''Kurtus gulliveri'', the nurseryfish, is a species of fish in the family Kurtidae native to fresh and brackish waters in southern New Guinea and northern Australia.Berra, T.B. (2003). ''Nurseryfish, Kurtus gulliveri (Perciformes: Kurtidae), fro ...

'' Castelnau, 1878 (nurseryfish) * ''

Kurtus indicus ''Kurtus indicus'', the Indian humphead, is a species of fish in the family Kurtidae native to fresh, brackish, and marine waters of the coastal regions of southern Asia from India to southeast China and Indonesia Indonesia, officially ...

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), Austrian entrepreneur *Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter *Alexandre Bloch (1857–1919), French painter *Alfred Bloch ( ...

, 1786 (Indian humphead)

References

Kurtidae Ray-finned fish genera {{Kurtiformes-stub