Rhamphocottidae is a
family of
ray-finned fishes belonging to the
superfamily Cottoidea, the
sculpins. The species in this family occur in the North Pacific Ocean.
Taxonomy
Rhamphocottidae was first proposed as a family 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 ...
s
David Starr Jordan and
Charles Henry Gilbert in 1883.
[ The family was regarded as ]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 ...
until 2014 when the family Ereunidae was synonymised with it.[ This family is classified within the superfamily Cottoidea in the suborder Cottoidei in the order Scorpaeniformes in the 5th edition of '' Fishes of the World''][ but other authorities states that if Scorpaeniformes is excluded from Perciformes then Perciformes is recovered as ]paraphyletic
Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...
and so classify this family within the infraorder Cottales within the suborder Cottoidei of the Perciformes.
Genera
Rhamphocottidae contains the following genera:
Characteristics
Rhamphocottidae sculpins have a single pharyngobranchial bone. 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 ...
s several of the lower pectoral rays are separated from the upper lobe and are free of the fin membrane. There are fin stays in the dorsal and 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 tail has all parts of the hypural and parhypural fused into a single complex structure.[ The smallest species is the ]grunt sculpin
The grunt sculpin or grunt-fish (''Rhamphocottus richardsonii'') is a small fish mainly found in the Pacific Ocean, eastern Pacific Ocean. The grunt sculpin generally remains close to shore and is often found in empty Balanus nubilus, giant barn ...
(''Rhamphocottus richardsonii'') with a maximum published total length of
Distribution and habitat
Rhamphocottidae are found in the North Pacific Ocean where they are found from Japan along the Asian coasts to Alaska and south to California.[ These are demeral or bathydemersal fishes with the grunt sculpin being a species of intertidal and subtidal regions but they other species being deep water fishes.][
]
References
{{taxonbar, from=Q13721408
Taxa named by David Starr Jordan
Taxa named by Charles Henry Gilbert
Perciformes families