''Prionurus'' 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 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 ...

Acanthuridae Acanthuridae are a family of ray-finned fish which includes surgeonfishes, tangs, and unicornfishes. The family includes about 86 extant species of marine fish living in tropical seas, usually around coral reefs. Many of the species are brigh ...

, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs, although some of the species in this genus are called sawtails or doctorfish. The species in this genus are found in the Pacific Ocean with one species, ''P. biafraensis'', found in the Atlantic Ocean.

Taxonomy

''Prionurus'' was first proposed as a

monospecific genus 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 ...

in 1804 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 ''Prionurus microlepidotus''. Lacépède did not give a type locality but the type was collected by François Péron off

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. The genus ''Prionurus'' is the only genus in the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Prionurini which is one of three tribes in 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 ...

Acanthurinae ''Acanthurinae'' is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the Family (biology), family Acanthuridae, found in the Indo-Pacific and the tropical Atlantic. These fishes commonly have the English names surgeonfishes or tangs. Taxono ...

which is one of two subfamiles in the family Acanthuridae.

Etymology

''Prionurus'' means "sawtail" a reference to the 3 to 7 immobile keeled bony plates on each side of the

caudal peduncle 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 only ...

Species

There are currently seven recognized species in this genus: * '' Prionurus biafraensis'' ( Blache & Rossignol, 1961) - Biafra doctorfish * '' Prionurus chrysurus'' J. E. Randall, 2001 * '' Prionurus laticlavius'' (

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, 1846) - razor surgeonfish * '' Prionurus maculatus'' J. D. Ogilby, 1887 - yellowspotted sawtail * '' Prionurus microlepidotus'' Lacépède, 1804 - sixplate sawtail * '' Prionurus punctatus'' T. N. Gill, 1862 - yellowtail surgeonfish * '' Prionurus scalprum'' Valenciennes, 1835 - scalpel sawtail

Characteristics

''Prionurus'' species have oval, compressed bodies with a steep angle on the head above the snout. The small mouth is protrusible and is positioned low on the head. The teeth are set closely together and are moderately large, flattened and have serrated edges. They have 8 or 9 spines in 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 ...

and 3 spines in 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 ...

. The caudal peduncle has between 3 and 7 bony plates with sharp keels on each side. The spined keels in the caudal peduncle are immobile in this genus compared to mobile ones in other surgeonfishes. These fishes vary in their maximum published

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 ...

s from in ''P. biafraensis'' to in ''P. microlepidotus''.

Distribution

''Prionurus'' have a predominantly Pacific range with six of the seven species being found in the Pacific Ocean, two of these, ''P. laticlavus'' and ''P. punctatus'' being

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the eastern Pacific and one, ''P. biafraensis'', being endemic to the Eastern Atlantic.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1872436 Acanthuridae Marine fish genera Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède