''Pteroidichthys'' 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 Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Taxonomy

''Pteroidichthys'' was first described as a genus in 1856 by the Dutch

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

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 ...

and

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

Pieter Bleeker Pieter Bleeker (10 July 1819 – 24 January 1878) was a Dutch medical doctor, Ichthyology, ichthyologist, and Herpetology, herpetologist. He was famous for the ''Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises'', his monumental work on ...

when he described ''Pteroidichthys amboinensis'' and he placed it in 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. The genus name is a compound of ''pteroides'' which means "similar to ''

Pterois ''Pterois'' is a genus of venomous marine fish, commonly known as the lionfish, native to the Indo-Pacific. It is characterized by conspicuous warning coloration with red or black bands and ostentatious dorsal fins tipped with venomous spines. ...

''", and ''ichthys'' meaning "fish". Bleeker thought that this taxon was close to the lionfishes but was distinguished by, among other features, the lack of head spines.

Species

There are currently 4 recognized species in this genus: * '' Pteroidichthys acutus'' Motomura & Kanade, 2015 (Longsnout weedy scorpionfish) * ''

Pteroidichthys amboinensis ''Pteroidichthys amboinensis'', the Ambon scorpionfish or Godfrey's scorpionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the Family (biology), family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacif ...

'' Bleeker, 1856 (Ambon scorpionfish) * '' Pteroidichthys caussei'' Motomura & Kanade, 2015 (Causse's scorpionfish) * '' Pteroidichthys noronhai'' ( Fowler, 1938) (Noronha's scorpionfish)

Characteristics

''Pteroidichthys'' scorpionfishes have a body which is strongly compressed and elongated, the width of the body is equivalent to 10–24% of their

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 ...

while its depth is equivalent to 28–40% of its standard length. They have 12 spines in their

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 there are no black blotches on the lower part of the

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 ...

. These scorpionfishes vary in size from a maximum standard length of in ''P. acutus'' to 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 ''P. amboinensis''.

Distribution and habitat

''Pteroidichthys'' scorpionfishes are found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean, occurring in the Red Sea as well. It is found as far north as Japan and south to Australia. They are demersal fishes which occur over soft substrates. These fishes are found in depths that range from .

Biology

''Pteroidichthys'' scorpionfishes are ambush predators and tend to be solitary fishes.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2694599 Scorpaenini Venomous fish Marine fish genera Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker