The whitelined toadfish (''Sanopus greenfieldorum'') 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 ...

Batrachoididae Batrachoididae is the only family in the ray-finned fish order Batrachoidiformes . Members of this family are usually called toadfish or frogfish: both the English common name and scientific name refer to their toad-like appearance (''batrakhos ...

, the toadfishes. This fish is

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 waters off Belize.

Taxonomy

The whitelined toadfish was first formally described in 1983 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 ...

Bruce Baden Collette Bruce Baden Collette (born March 13, 1934) is an American ichthyologist. Biography He was born on March 13, 1934, in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. He is the son of Raymond Hill Collette and Agnes Hellen (Lavsen) Collette. Publications * ''Th ...

with its type locality given as from a depth of south of Carrie Bow Cay, Belize. This species is classified within the genus ''Sanopus'', which was proposed in 1928 by

J. L. B. Smith James Leonard Brierley Smith (26 September 1897 – 8 January 1968) was a South African ichthyology, ichthyologist, organic chemist, and university professor. He was the first to identify a taxidermied fish as a coelacanth, at the time thought t ...

with '' Opsanus barbatus'' designated as 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 ...

. ''Sanopus'' is classified within 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 ...

Batrachoidinae of the family Batrachoididae, the only family in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Batrachoidiformes Batrachoididae is the only family in the ray-finned fish order Batrachoidiformes . Members of this family are usually called toadfish or frogfish: both the English common name and scientific name refer to their toad-like appearance (''batrakhos ...

Etymology

The whitelined toadfish is a species in the genus ''Sanopus'', this name was not explained by Smith but is an

anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into the phrase "nag a ram"; which ...

of '' Opsanus'', the genus that the type species, ''S. barbatus'', was classified in at the time Smith proposed the new genus. The

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 ...

honours both David W. Greenfield and Teresa Arambula Greenfield, the collectors of the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

and sent it to Collette as they suspected that it was an

undescribed species In taxonomy, an undescribed taxon is a taxon (for example, a species) that has been discovered, but not yet formally described and named. The various Nomenclature Codes specify the requirements for a new taxon to be validly described and named. U ...

Description

The whitelined toadfish types had a standard length which ranged between and . This species has a dark body with clearly visible white markings, and the head is marked with numerous white lines. 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 3 spines and between 30 and 32 soft rays while 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 ...

has 24 or 25 soft rays.

Distribution and habitat

The whitelined toadfish is only known to occur in the

Gulf of Honduras The Gulf of Honduras or the Bay of Honduras is a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea, indenting the coasts of Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. From north to south, it runs for approximately 200 km (125 miles) from Dangriga, Belize, to La Cei ...

off Belize where it has been recorded between Carrie Bow Cay and South Water Cay. It is found at depths between in depression in the sand beneath corals.

Biology

The whitelined toadfish is a predator which feeds on crabs, gastropds and smaller fishes. Like other toadfishes, this species is likely to have low levels of larval dispersal because their eggs are demersal and there is no pelagic larval phase. This type lo life history probably results in low genetic interchange between toadfish populations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitelined Toadfish Sanopus Fish of Belize Endemic fauna of Belize Fish described in 1983 Taxa named by Bruce Baden Collette Taxonomy articles created by Polbot