''Nemadactylus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...

, traditionally regarded as belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Cheilodactylidae, 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

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 Speciali ...

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 explore ...

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

type species In 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 species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

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 exactly 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 al ...

Johann Reinhold Forster Johann Reinhold Forster (22 October 1729 – 9 December 1798) was a German Reformed (Calvinist) pastor and naturalist of partially Scottish descent who made contributions to the early ornithology of Europe and North America. He is best known ...

's '' Chichla macroptera''. The specific name is a compound of ''nema'' meaning "thread" and ''dactylus'' which means "finger", a referenve to the long rays of the

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

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 may refer to: * ''Latris'', a Greek word meaning "slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver a ...

'', 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'' and '' C. pixi'' would remain in the revised Cheilodactylidae. The 5th edition of

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' by the American Ichthyology, ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classificat ...

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

Species

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

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 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

, 1937) (Castaneta) * '' Nemadactylus douglasii'' (

Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

, 1875) (Porae) * '' Nemadactylus gayi'' ( Kner, 1865) * '' Nemadactylus macropterus'' ( J. R. Forster, 1801) (Tarakihi) * '' Nemadactylus monodactylus'' ( 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, t ...

'' ( Whitley, 1937) (Sea carp) * ''

Nemadactylus vemae ''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 Ocea ...

'' ( M. J. Penrith, 1967) An eighth undescribed species informally, named the "king tarakihi", is known from the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea ( Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) 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 ...

off

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

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 ...

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together w ...

and the

Kermadec Islands The Kermadec Islands ( mi, Rangitāhua) 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 ...

, 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 (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

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 distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as s ...

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, partricularly 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)