''Plectrogenium'', 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 ...

es, the stinger flatheads, the only genus classified within the

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 ...

Plectrogeninae, which in turn is classified within 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 ...

Scorpaenidae The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a family (biology), family of mostly ocean, marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As their name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp ...

. This genus is found in the Indian and

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

Oceans.

Taxonomy

''Plectrogenium'' was originally named as 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 ...

genus in 1905 by the American

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

Charles Henry Gilbert Charles Henry Gilbert (December 5, 1859 in Rockford, Illinois – April 20, 1928 in Palo Alto, California) was a pioneer ichthyologist and Fisheries science, fishery biologist of particular significance to natural history of the western Unit ...

when he described what was then considered to be its only species, ''Plectrogenium nanum'', from Hawaii. ''Plectrogenium'' is the only genus in the monotypic subfamily Plectrogeninae which is

classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper * The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...

within the family Scorpaenidae 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 ...

Scorpaeniformes The Scorpaeniformes are a diverse Order (biology), order of Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish, including the lionfishes and sculpins, but have also been called the Scleroparei. It is one of the five largest orders of bony fishes by number of spec ...

by some authorities. Other authorities treat this taxon as part of a separate family Plectrogenidae, alongside the genus '' Bembradium'', and place this family in the

perciform 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 also sea ...

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

Platycephaloidei. The genus name, ''Plectrogenium'', is a compound of ''plectro'', which means "spur", and ''genys'', which means "cheek"or "chin", an allusion to the lines of robust spines along the sides of the head.

Species

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

Plectrogenium barsukovi ''Plectrogenium'', is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, the stinger flatheads, the only genus classified within the subfamily Plectrogeninae, which in turn is classified within the family Scorpaenidae. This genus is found in the Indian and P ...

Mandritsa Mandritsa (, "Small dairy"; ) is a village in southernmost Bulgaria, part of Ivaylovgrad municipality, Haskovo Province. It is known as the only Albanians, Albanian village in Bulgaria. As of 14 December 2006, Mandritsa has a population of 75. It ...

, 1992 * ''

Plectrogenium capricornis ''Plectrogenium'', is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, the stinger flatheads, the only genus classified within the subfamily Plectrogeninae, which in turn is classified within the family Scorpaenidae. This genus is found in the Indian and P ...

'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021 * ''

Plectrogenium kamoharai ''Plectrogenium'', is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, the stinger flatheads, the only genus classified within the subfamily Plectrogeninae, which in turn is classified within the family Scorpaenidae. This genus is found in the Indian and P ...

'' Uesaka, Yamakawa, Matsunuma & Endo, 2021 * ''

Plectrogenium kanayamai ''Plectrogenium'', is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, the stinger flatheads, the only genus classified within the subfamily Plectrogeninae, which in turn is classified within the family Scorpaenidae. This genus is found in the Indian and P ...

'' Uesaka, Yamakawa, Matsunuma & Endo, 2021 * ''

Plectrogenium longipinnis ''Plectrogenium'', is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, the stinger flatheads, the only genus classified within the subfamily Plectrogeninae, which in turn is classified within the family Scorpaenidae. This genus is found in the Indian and P ...

'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021 * ''

Plectrogenium megalops ''Plectrogenium'', is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, the stinger flatheads, the only genus classified within the subfamily Plectrogeninae, which in turn is classified within the family Scorpaenidae. This genus is found in the Indian and P ...

'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021 * ''

Plectrogenium nanum ''Plectrogenium'', is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, the stinger flatheads, the only genus classified within the subfamily Plectrogeninae, which in turn is classified within the family Scorpaenidae. This genus is found in the Indian and P ...

'' C. H. Gilbert, 1905 * ''

Plectrogenium occidentalise ''Plectrogenium'', is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, the stinger flatheads, the only genus classified within the subfamily Plectrogeninae, which in turn is classified within the family Scorpaenidae. This genus is found in the Indian and P ...

'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021 * ''

Plectrogenium rubricauda ''Plectrogenium'', is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, the stinger flatheads, the only genus classified within the subfamily Plectrogeninae, which in turn is classified within the Family (biology), family Scorpaenidae. This genus is found in ...

'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021 * '' Plectrogenium serratum'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021

Characteristics

''Plectrogenium'' is characterised by having a laterally compressed body with a number of spines and ridges on the head. There are venom glands on the spines in the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

anal Anal may refer to: Related to the anus *Related to the anus of animals: ** Anal fin, in fish anatomy ** Anal vein, in insect anatomy ** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy *Related to the human anus: ** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involving ...

and

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. The dorsal fin typically has 12 spines and 7¹/₂ soft rays, the dorsal fin is split into 2 fins with 2 spines in the anterior part of the second dorsal fin. There are between 22 and 25 rays in 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 and they have 30-35 vertical rows of

ctenoid scale A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as w ...

s on the body. There are flattened spines on the suborbital ridge which resembles that of the

Platycephalidae The Platycephalidae are a Family (biology), family of marine ray-finned fish, most commonly referred to as flatheads. They are relatives of the lionfish, and belong to the order Perciformes. Taxonomy Platycephalidae was first proposed as a famil ...

. The mouth is positioned ventrally. They are small fishes with standard lengths of less than

Distribution and habitat

''Plectrogenium'' is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans from Madagascar to Hawaii. They are

bathydemersal Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of ocean, seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 T ...

fishes which are found at depths greater than .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2325680 Scorpaenidae Marine fish genera Taxa named by Charles Henry Gilbert