''Nemadactylus'' 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 ...

, traditionally regarded as 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 ...

Cheilodactylidae Cheilodactylidae, commonly called morwongs but also known as butterfish, fingerfins, jackassfish, sea carp, snappers, and moki, is a family of marine ray-finned fish. They are found in subtropical oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. The common na ...

, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. They are found in the South Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific Oceans.

Systematics

''Nemadactylus'' was first formally described as a genus in 1839 by the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

naval surgeon A naval surgeon, or less commonly ship's doctor, is the person responsible for the health of the ship's company aboard a warship. The term appears often in reference to Royal Navy's medical personnel during the Age of Sail. Ancient uses Specialis ...

arctic explorer Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Historical records suggest that humankind have explored ...

and

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 ...

Sir John Richardson when he described ''Nemadactylus concinnus'' which he designated the

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 ...

of the new genus by monotypy. ''Nemadactylus concinnus'' is now considered to be a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

Johann Reinhold Forster Johann Reinhold Forster (; 22 October 1729 – 9 December 1798) was a German Reformed pastor and naturalist. Born in Tczew, Dirschau, Pomeranian Voivodeship (1466–1772), Pomeranian Voivodeship, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (now Tczew, Po ...

's '' Chichla macroptera''. The

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 ...

is a compound of ''nema'' meaning "thread" and ''dactylus'' which means "finger", a reference to the long rays 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 ...

s of the type species. The genus has traditionally been assigned to Cheilodactylidae, but a number of papers published in the late 1990s and early 2000s placed ''Nemadactylus'' as sister to ''

Latris ''Latris'' is a genus of marine ray finned fish belonging to the family Latridae, the trumpeters. They are found in the southern oceans. Taxonomy ''Latris'' was first formally described in 1839 by the Scottish naval surgeon, naturalist and Arc ...

'', suggesting its reassignment to the

Latridae Latridae commonly called trumpeters, is a family of marine ray-finned fish. They are found in temperate seas in the Southern Hemisphere. The classification of the species within the Latridae and the related Cheilodactylidae is unclear.They are ...

. Further genetic and morphological analyses strongly support the placement of ''Nemadactylus'' in the family

, alongside almost all of the other species formerly classified in the Cheilodactylidae. Only two Southern African species, ''

Cheilodactylus fasciatus The redfingers (''Cheilodactylus fasciatus'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the Family (biology), family Cheilodactylidae, commonly referred to as morwongs. It is found only off the coasts of Namibia and South Africa, in ro ...

'' and '' C. pixi'' would remain in the revised Cheilodactylidae. 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 ...

, however, retains ''Nemadactylus'' within the family Cheiloactylidae.

Species

There are currently seven recognized species in this genus: * ''

Nemadactylus bergi ''Nemadactylus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. They are found in the South Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific Oceans. ...

'' (

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) (Castaneta) * ''

Nemadactylus douglasii The porae (''Nemadactylus douglasii''), the grey morwong, blue morwong, butterfish, Douglas' morwong, Eastern blue morwong, great perch, queen snapper, rubberlip morwong or silver morwong, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally reg ...

'' (

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) (Porae) * ''

Nemadactylus gayi ''Nemadactylus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the Family (biology), family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. They are found in the South Atlantic, Indian and Sou ...

'' ( Kner, 1865) * ''

Nemadactylus macropterus ''Nemadactylus macropterus'', the tarakihi, jackass morwong or deep sea perch, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. It is ...

'' ( J. R. Forster, 1801) (Tarakihi) * ''

Nemadactylus monodactylus St. Paul's fingerfin (''Nemadactylus monodactylus''), is a species of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. It is native to the southwester ...

'' ( Carmichael, 1819) (St. Paul's fingerfin) * ''

Nemadactylus valenciennesi ''Nemadactylus valenciennesi'' (common names include blue morwong, queen snapper, the queen fish, sea carp or southern blue morwong), is a species of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the ...

'' ( Whitley, 1937) (Sea carp) * '' Nemadactylus vemae'' ( M. J. Penrith, 1967) An eighth undescribed species, informally named the "king tarakihi", is known from the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...

off

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and New Zealand as well as at

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

and the

Kermadec Islands The Kermadec Islands ( ; ) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total area and uninhabit ...

, this has been given the placeholder name ''Nemadactylus sp'', as it has not been formally described so no binomial has been applied. This undescribed species differs in morphology from ''N. macropterus''. Studies in New Zealand have confirmed that the "king tarahiki" is genetically separate from ''N. macropterus'' and a

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

study found that the undescribed ''N. sp'' is a sister taxon to the eastern Pacific ''N. gayi''.

Characteristics

''Nemadactylus'' morwongs are separated from related taxa by having an ova; compressed body with a shallow dorsal profile to the head. There is a continuous dorsal fin with no incision separating the spiny part from the soft rayed part. The dorsal fin has 16-18 spines and 24-31 soft rays, the spines are not elongated. 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 3 spines and 11-19 soft rays while the

has 16-16 rays, one of which is highly elongated, reaching beyond the origin of the anal fin. They vary in total length from in ''N. bergi'' to in ''N. valenciennesi''.

Distribution, habitat and biology

''Nemadactylus'' morwongs are found in the temperate regions of the southern hemisphere off southern Africa, the southern Indian Ocean, Australia, New Zealand and southern South America. They are predators of benthic invertebrates.

Fisheries

''Nemadactylus'' morwongs, particularly the larger species, are of some interest to fisheries. For example the tarakihi (''N. macropterus'') is sought after by both commercial and recreation fisheries in New Zealand.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2135383 Latridae Cheilodactylidae Taxa named by John Richardson (naturalist)