''Pontinus'' 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 ...

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 ...

, the scorpionfishes. The scorpionfishes in this genus are distributed in the tropical and warm temperate parts Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Taxonomy

''Pontinus'' was first described as a genus in 1860 by the Cuban

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Felipe Poey y Aloy Felipe Poey (May 26, 1799 – January 28, 1891) was a Cuban zoologist. Biography Poey was born in Havana, the son of French and Spanish parents. He spent several years (1804 to 1807) of his life in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pau then studied ...

when he was describing the longsnout scorpionfish (''P. castor'') which he had collected at Havana, as this species was the only species Poey definitely placed within the new genus it is its

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 ...

monotypy 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 "unispe ...

. The genus name from is derived from ''pontis'', meaning "bridge", an allusion to the suborbital stay, or ridge, which is found in all the species in the subfamily Scorpaeninae.

Species

There are currently 19 recognized species in this genus: * '' Pontinus accraensis''

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 ...

, 1935 (Ghanean rockfish) * '' Pontinus castor'' Poey, 1860 (Longsnout scorpionfish) * '' Pontinus clemensi'' Fitch, 1955 (Mottled scorpionfish) * '' Pontinus corallinus'' A. Miranda-Ribeiro, 1903 * '' Pontinus furcirhinus''

Garman Garman is a surname or first name. Notable people with the name include: Sports * Ann Garman, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player * Judi Garman (born 1954), American softball coach * Mike Garman (born 1949), American baseball pla ...

, 1899 * '' Pontinus helena'' Eschmeyer, 1965 * '' Pontinus kuhlii'' ( S. Bowdich, 1825) (Offshore rockfish) * '' Pontinus leda'' Eschmeyer, 1969 (Speckled deepwater scorpionfish) * '' Pontinus longispinis'' Goode & T. H. Bean, 1896 (Longspine scorpionfish) * '' Pontinus macrocephalus'' ( Sauvage, 1882) (Large-headed scorpionfish) * '' Pontinus nematophthalmus'' ( Günther, 1860) (Spinythroat scorpionfish) * '' Pontinus nigerimum'' Eschmeyer, 1983 (Blacklash scorpionfish) * '' Pontinus nigropunctatus'' (Günther, 1868) (St. Helena deepwater scorpionfish) * '' Pontinus rathbuni'' Goode & T. H. Bean, 1896 (Highfin scorpionfish) * '' Pontinus rhodochrous'' (Günther, 1872) * '' Pontinus sierra'' ( C. H. Gilbert, 1890) (Speckled scorpionfish) * '' Pontinus strigatus'' Heller & Snodgrass, 1903 (Stalkeye scorpionfish) * '' Pontinus tentacularis'' ( Fowler, 1938) * '' Pontinus vaughani'' Barnhart & C. L. Hubbs, 1946 (Spotback scorpionfish)

Characteristics

''Pontinus'' scorpionfishes have very bony heads The head has 2 preorbital spines over the maxillary, 3-4 spines on the suborbital ridge although the first spine on the preorbital bone is frequently absent. There is a supplemental preopercular spine and the uppermost preopercular spine is the longest with the second preopercular spine being often absent, then the third and fourth are present but the 5th may be present or absent. They have both

vomerine teeth The vomer (; ) is one of the unpaired facial bones of the skull. It is located in the midsagittal line, and articulates with the sphenoid, the ethmoid, the left and right palatine bones, and the left and right maxillary bones. The vomer forms t ...

and paltine teeth. The

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 ...

contains 12 spines and 9-10 sot rays while the anal-fin has 3 spines and 5 soft rays with the rearmost ray deeply split. There are 15-20 unbranched fin 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 ...

. They have a

swimbladder The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled organ in bony fish that functions to modulate buoyancy, and thus allowing the fish to stay at desired water depth without having to maintain lift via swimming, w ...

The scales on the body are

ctenoid 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 ...

and the cheek, postorbital area and top of head are all scaled. They do not have an occipital pit. These scorpionfishes vary in size from a

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

of in the spinythroat scorpionfish (''P. nematophthalmus'') to in the mottled spinefish (''P. clemensi'').

Distribution and habitat

''Pontinus'' scorpionfishes are found in tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic Indian and Pacific Oceans. These are

demersal fish Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of 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 They oc ...

es.

References

{{Authority control Scorpaenini Venomous fish Extant Rupelian first appearances Marine fish genera Taxa named by Felipe Poey Rupelian genus first appearances