''Plesiops'' 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 ...

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 in 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 ...

Plesiopidae The longfins, also known as roundheads or spiny basslets, are a Family (biology), family, Plesiopidae, which were formerly placed in the order Perciformes or considered indeterminate Percomorpha, percomorphs, but are now considered basal Blenniifo ...

. It is a genus of small fishes which vary in length from and and which live in shallow coral flats or around heads of coral. They have elongated

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 and the other fins are marked with colourful patterns such as stripes and these give name to the common names "

longfin The longfins, also known as roundheads or spiny basslets, are a family, Plesiopidae, which were formerly placed in the order Perciformes or considered indeterminate percomorphs, but are now considered basal blenniiforms. They are elongated fishe ...

" and "prettyfin". They are thought to be

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

and are infrequently seen in the wild. They are carnivorous and their diet is made up of

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

s and small fishes and sometimes on

brittle star Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids (; ; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomot ...

s. A defining characteristic of this genus is that they lay elongated eggs which are laid under rocks or overhangs and are guarded by the male.

Species

The following species are currently recognised within the genus ''Plesiops'': * '' Plesiops auritus'' * '' Plesiops cephalotaenia'' * '' Plesiops coeruleolineatus'' * '' Plesiops corallicola'' * '' Plesiops facicavus'' * '' Plesiops genaricus'' * '' Plesiops gracilis'' * '' Plesiops insularis'' * '' Plesiops malalaxus'' * '' Plesiops multisquamata'' * '' Plesiops mystaxus'' * '' Plesiops nakaharae'' * '' Plesiops nigricans'' * '' Plesiops oxycephalus'' * '' Plesiops polydactylus'' * '' Plesiops thysanopterus'' * '' Plesiops verecundus''

References

{{Authority control Plesiopinae Taxa named by Lorenz Oken