The Microcanthinae, commonly known as footballers, mados, stripeys, and moonlighters, are a

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 ...

of the

sea chub The sea chubs, also known as rudderfish and pilot fish and in Hawaiian as ''enenue'' or ''nenue'', are a family, Kyphosidae, (from Greek, ''kyphos'' = hump) of fishes in the order Perciformes native to the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans u ...

s, a

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Perciformes Perciformes (), also called the Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish in the clade Percomorpha. ''Perciformes'' means " perch-like". Among the well-known members of this group are perches and darters ( Percidae), and als ...

Taxonomy

Microacanthinae is treated as a

of the sea chub

Kyphosidae within the order Perciformes in the 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

'', but other authorities treat it as a family, the Microacanthidae. It has also been placed in the order Pempheriformes in some classifications, and in the

Centrarchiformes Centrarchiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, previously included amongst the perciformes. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. (2023). FishBase. Centrarchiformes. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies. ...

in others.

Classification

The following genera are classified in the subfamily Microcanthinae: * '' Atypichthys'' Günther, 1862 * ''

Microcanthus ''Microcanthus'' 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 c ...

'' Swainson, 1839 * ''

Neatypus The western footballer (''Neatypus obliquus''), also known as the footballer sweep, is a species of ray-finned fish endemic to southern reefs of Australia, where it can be found down to . It can also be found in the aquarium trade. This species ...

'' Waite, 1905 * ''

Tilodon The moonlighter (''Tilodon sexfasciatus''), is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a member of the family Microcanthidae. It is endemic to southern Australia, where adults can be found on rocky reefs to depths of . Juveniles are found in much ...

'' Thominot, 1881

Characteristics

The Microcathinae is a subfamily of moderately sized fishes, most of which grow no longer than . They have an oval body. They have a small terminal mouth which does not extend as far as the front of the eye. They have small teeth which are set close together and have pointed tips, and are set out either in a broad band or a single row. There is one

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 ...

which has 11 or 12 spines and 16-18 soft rays while the

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 ...

has three spines and 16-19 soft rays. The

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

s start just behind the end of the base of the

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

. Their

caudal 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 only ...

s vary from emarginate through to forked. They have small ctenoid scales which reach onto the cheeks and upper part of gill covers, and form scaly sheaths at the bases of the dorsal and anal fins, with scales extending on to the soft-rayed parts of those fins. They have a continuous

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

which is evenly curved. They are normally yellowish or whitish in colour, marked with dark brown or blackish almost horizontal or oblique stripes.

Habitat, biology and range

The species of the Microcanthinae are found off shallow coastal areas and in rocky estuaries, mainly over hard substrates. They occur from the intertidal zone down to depths of ; their diet comprises small invertebrates and algae. They prefer subtropical and warm temperate seas, occurring in the southeast Indian Ocean, the southwestern Pacific Ocean off Australia and New Zealand, and around southern Japan, Taiwan and the Hawaiian islands.

Fisheries

Microcanthines are of little interest to fisheries although they are of interest to the

aquarium An aquarium (: 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. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

trade.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2355564 Kyphosidae