Prionurus Chrysurus
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''Prionurus chrysurus'', the Indonesian sawtail or yellowtail sawtail, is a species 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 ...
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. This fish is found in the western Pacific Ocean in Indonesia.


Taxonomy

''Prionurus chrysurus'' was first formally described in 2001 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 ...
John Ernest Randall John Ernest "Jack" Randall (May 22, 1924 – April 26, 2020) was an American ichthyologist and a leading authority on coral reef fishes. Randall described over 800 species and authored 11 books and over 900 scientific papers and popular articles. ...
with its type locality given as “the blue lagoon” at Padang Bai on
Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
. 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 chrysurus'' has a
specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''chrysurus'' which combines "chrysos", meaning ”gold” , with ''ouros'', which means “tail”, a reference to the yellow caudal fin of this fish.


Description

''Prionurus chrysurus'' is a distinctive species within the genus ''Prionurus'', 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 ...
is supported by 9 spines and 23 soft rays, 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 ...
contains 3 spines and 22 soft rays. 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 have 17 rays. There are between 8 and 10 bony plates with keels on the middle of the rear flanks and many small bony plates on the upper rear part of the body. The overall colour is brown, with thin vermillion bars on the flanks and a yellow
caudal 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 only ...
. The 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 Indonesian sawtail is .


Distribution and habitat

''Prionurus chrysurus'' is found in the Western Pacific Ocean where it is known only from Indonesia. It is found from Bali to western
Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...
and also off
Lombok Lombok, is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is rou ...
. The species in the genus ''Prionurus'' shows an
Antitropical distribution Antitropical (alternatives include biantitropical or amphitropical) distribution is a type of disjunct distribution where a species or clade exists at comparable latitudes across the equator but not in the tropics. For example, a species may be fou ...
in the Pacific preferring cooler waters and the Indonesian sawtail prefers
upwelling Upwelling is an physical oceanography, oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water from deep water towards the ocean surface. It replaces the warmer and usually nutrient-depleted sur ...
s where the water temperature is 20-23 °C. It has been postulated that it is a glacial relict which had a wider distribution in a period off global cooler temperatures.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2147727 chrysurus Fish described in 2001 Taxa named by John Ernest Randall