''Peristedion'' 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 ...

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 ...

Peristediidae Peristediidae, the armored sea robins or armoured gurnards, is a Family (biology), family of Actinopterygii, ray-finned fishes belonging to the suborder Platycephaloidei in the Order (biology), order Scorpaeniformes. They are found in the deep wa ...

, the armoured gurnards or armored sea robins. These fishes are found in

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

and

Indo-West Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the s ...

ocean waters.

Taxonomy

Peristedion was first described as a genus in 1801 by the French

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 ...

Bernard Germain de Lacépède Bernard-Germain-Étienne de La Ville-sur-Illon, comte de Lacépède or La Cépède (; 26 December 17566 October 1825) was a French natural history, naturalist and an active freemason. He is known for his contribution to the Comte de Buffon's g ...

when he described ''Peristedion marmalat'' from the Mediterranean Sea and the

Moluccas The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West Melanesi ...

. In 1826

Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent Jean-Baptiste Geneviève Marcellin Bory de Saint-Vincent was a French naturalist, officer and politician. He was born on 6 July 1778 in Agen (Lot-et-Garonne) and died on 22 December 1846 in Paris. Biologist and geographer, he was particularly int ...

designated ''P. marmalat'' as 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 genus. ''P. marmalat'' is now treated as a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

's ''Trigla cataphracta'', which he described from the Mediterranean Sea off southern France. Within the family Peristediidae there are 2 clades. One, which contains Peristedion, is a

monotypic 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 "unisp ...

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

, while the other clade is made up of the remaining 5 genera of the Peristediidae. The name of the genus ''Peristedion'' is a combination of ''peri'', meaning "around", and ''stedion'', which is a diminutive of ''stethos'', which is Greek for "breast" or "chest", an allusion to the bony plates lining the underside of the body, similar to a

plastron The turtle shell is a shield for the ventral and dorsal parts of turtles (the Order (biology), order Testudines), completely enclosing all the turtle's vital organs and in some cases even the head. It is constructed of modified bony elements such ...

, the feature Lacépède use to distinguish ''Peristidion'' from '' Trigla''.

Species

''Peristedion'' currently contains 24 recognized species: * ''

Peristedion altipinne ''Peristedion'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Peristediidae, the armoured gurnards or armored sea robins. These fishes are found in Atlantic and Indo-West Pacific ocean waters. Taxonomy Peristedion was first desc ...

'' Regan, 1903 * ''

Peristedion amblygenys ''Peristedion'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Peristediidae, the armoured gurnards or armored sea robins. These fishes are found in Atlantic and Indo-West Pacific ocean waters. Taxonomy Peristedion was first desc ...

'' Fowler, 1938 Ono, M. & Kawai, T. (2014)
Review of Armored Searobins of the Genus ''Peristedion''(Teleostei: Peristediidae) in Japanese Waters.
''Species Diversity, 19 (2): 117–131.'' * ''

Peristedion antillarum ''Peristedion'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Peristediidae, the armoured gurnards or armored sea robins. These fishes are found in Atlantic and Indo-West Pacific ocean waters. Taxonomy Peristedion was first desc ...

'' Teague, 1961 (Long-nose armoured searobin) * '' Peristedion barbiger'' Garman, 1899 * '' Peristedion brevirostre'' ( Günther, 1860) (Flat-head searobin) * ''

Peristedion cataphractum ''Peristedion cataphractum'', the African armoured gurnard, the mailed gurnard or armed gurnard, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Peristediidae, the armoured gurnards or armored sea robins. It is found in the easter ...

'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 1758) (African armoured searobin) * '' Peristedion crustosum'' Garman, 1899 * '' Peristedion ecuadorense'' Teague, 1961 * '' Peristedion gracile'' Goode & T. H. Bean, 1896 (Slender searobin) * '' Peristedion greyae'' G. C. Miller, 1967 * '' Peristedion imberbe'' Poey, 1861 * '' Peristedion liorhynchus'' (Günther, 1872) * '' Peristedion longicornutum'' Fricke, Kawai, Yato & Motomura, 2017 (Longhorn armored gurnard) * '' Peristedion longispatha'' Goode & T. H. Bean] 1886 * '' Peristedion miniatum'' Goode, 1880 (Armoured searobin) * '' Peristedion nesium'' W. A. Bussing, 2010 * '' Peristedion orientale''

Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch patrician, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. From his father, Jacob ...

& Schlegel, 1843 * ''

Peristedion paucibarbiger ''Peristedion'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family (biology), family Peristediidae, the armoured gurnards or armored sea robins. These fishes are found in Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Indo-West Pacific ocean waters. T ...

'' Castro-Aguirre & García-Domínguez, 1984 * '' Peristedion richardsi'' Kawai, 2016 Kawai, T. (2016): ''Peristedion richardsi'' sp. nov. (Actinopterygii: Teleostei: Peristediidae) from Indonesian waters, with synonymy between ''Peristedion riversandersoni'' Alcock, 1894 and ''Peristedion nierstraszi'' Weber, 1913. ''Zootaxa, 4171 (2): 335–346.'' * '' Peristedion riversandersoni'' Alcock, 1894 * '' Peristedion thompsoni'' Fowler, 1952 (Rim-spine searobin) * '' Peristedion truncatum'' (Günther, 1880) (Black armoured searobin) * '' Peristedion unicuspis'' G. C. Miller, 1967 * '' Peristedion weberi''

J. L. B. Smith James Leonard Brierley Smith (26 September 1897 – 8 January 1968) was a South African ichthyology, ichthyologist, organic chemist, and university professor. He was the first to identify a taxidermied fish as a coelacanth, at the time thought t ...

, 1934

Characteristics

''Peristedion'' armoured gurnards have a ventrally flattened head and body which is protected by a bony armour of plates and spines. There is a two-pointed rostral projection on the snout and there are barbels under the lower jaw. They do not have robust spines on the

preoperculum This glossary of ichthyology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in ichthyology, the study of fishes. A B C ...

. The first

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 ...

has 7 or 8 spines and the second dorsal fin has between 18 and 20 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 between 20 and 23 soft rays. There are between 11 and 13 fin rays enclosed within the membrane 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 ...

plus the two lowermost rays being separate. 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 are widely spaced, located under the base of the pectoral fins, and have 1 spine and 5 soft rays. The smallest species in the genus is '' P. paucibarbiger'', which has a maximum published

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

of . The largest are the African armoured sea robin ('' P. cataphractum'') and the armoured gurnard ('' P. liorhynchus'') both of which have maximum published standard lengths of .

Distribution

''Peristedion'' armoured gurnards occur on either sides of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Mediterranean Sea, in the Indo-West-Pacific and eastern Pacific Ocean.

References

{{Authority control Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish of the Pacific Ocean Peristediidae Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède