''Satyrichthys'' 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 ...

Peristediidae Peristediidae, the armored sea robins or armoured gurnards, is a Family (biology), family of Actinopterygii, ray-finned fishes belonging to the suborder Platycephaloidei in the Order (biology), order Scorpaeniformes. They are found in the deep wa ...

, the armoured gurnards or armored searobins. These fishes are found in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region.

Taxonomy

''Satyrichthys'' was first described as a monotypic genus in 1873 by the German zoologist Johann Jakob Kaup with ''Peristethus rieffeli'' as its only species. Kaup had described P. reifeli in 1853 with iots type locality given as China. Within the family Peristediidae there are 2 clades, this genus is in the

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

consisting of 5 genera, with the nominate genus ''

Peristedion ''Peristedion'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Peristediidae, the armoured gurnards or armored sea robins. These fishes are found in Atlantic and Indo-West Pacific ocean waters. Taxonomy Peristedion was first des ...

'' in the other clade. The name of the genus ''Satyrichtys'' was not explained by Kaup but it combines ''satyr'', meaning "god" or "

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

", with ''ichthys'', meaning "fish", the first part may be an allusion to the two fork-shaped projections at the end of the snout of ''S. rieffeli'', resembling the horns depicted on demons.

Species

''Satyrichthys'' currently contains 7 recognized species: * '' Satyrichthys clavilapis'' Fowler, 1938 * '' Satyrichthys laticeps'' Schlegel, 1852 * '' Satyrichthys longiceps'' Fowler, 1943 * '' Satyrichthys milleri'' Kawai, 2013Kawai, T. (2013): Revision of the peristediid genus ''Satyrichthys'' (Actinopterygii: Teleostei) with the description of a new species, ''S. milleri'' sp. nov. ''Zootaxa, 3635 (4): 419–438.'' * '' Satyrichthys moluccensis'' Bleeker, 1850 (Black-finned armoured-gurnard) * '' Satyrichthys rieffeli'' Kaup, 1859 (Spotted armoured-gurnard) * '' Satyrichthys welchi'' Herre, 1925 (Robust armoured-gurnard)

Characteristics

''Satyrichthys'' armoured gurnards have no teeth in their upper jaws, the sides of the head are smooth. The rear scutes in the lower lateral rows are not joined to the ventral midline. They have no branched barbels on the lower jaw apart from the rearmost lip and chin barbels. The second

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 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 ...

contain less than 20 soft rays. The smallest of these fishes is ''S. longiceps'' which has a 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 while the largest is ''S. laticeps'' which has a maximum published standard length of .

Distribution

''Satyrichthys'' armoured gurnards occur in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific Ocean.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1951464 Peristediidae Taxa named by Johann Jakob Kaup