''Scorpaenodes'' is a widespread
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 fishes in this genus are found to the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
,
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Associated with India
* of or related to India
** Indian people
** Indian diaspora
** Languages of India
** Indian English, a dialect of the English language
** Indian cuisine
Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
and
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
.
Taxonomy
''Scorpaenodes'' was first formally described as a genus in 1857 by the Dutch physician, herpetologist and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker, Bleeker designated ''Scorpaena polylepsis'' as its type species by Monotypic taxon, monotypy.
[ He had originally Species description, described this species from Western Sumatra in 1851. ''S. polylepsis'' was later shown to be junior synonym of ''Scorpaena guamensis'' which had been described from Guam by Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard in 1824 from Guam.]
Species
There are currently 29 recognized species in this genus:[Baldwin, C.C., Pitassy, D.E. & Robertson, D.R. (2016): A new deep-reef scorpionfish (Teleostei, Scorpaenidae, ''Scorpaenodes'') from the southern Caribbean with comments on depth distributions and relationships of western Atlantic members of the genus. ''ZooKeys, 606: 141–158.'']
* ''Scorpaenodes bathycolus'' Gerald R. Allen, G. R. Allen & Mark van Nydeck Erdmann, Erdmann, 2012 [Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. (2012): Reef Fishes of the East Indies. ''Reef Fishes of the East Indies.'' Volumes I-III. Tropical Reef Research, Perth, Australia. 1292pp. University of Hawai'i Press. .]
* ''Scorpaenodes caribbaeus'' Seth Eugene Meek, Meek & Samuel Frederick Hildebrand, Hildebrand, 1928 (Reef scorpionfish)
* ''Scorpaenodes corallinus'' James Leonard Brierley Smith, J. L. B. Smith, 1957
* ''Scorpaenodes elongatus'' Jean Cadenat, Cadenat, 1950 (African spotted scorpionfish)
* ''Scorpaenodes englerti'' William N. Eschmeyer, Eschmeyer & G. R. Allen, 1971 (Englert's scorpionfish)
* ''Scorpaenodes evides'' (David Starr Jordan, D. S. Jordan & William Francis Thompson (biologist), W. F. Thompson, 1914) (Cheek-spot scorpionfish) [Motomura, H., Arbsuwan, S. & Musikasinthorn, P. (2010)]
''Thysanichthys evides'', a Senior Synonym of ''Sebastella littoralis'', and a Valid Species of ''Scorpaenodes'' (Actinopterygii: Scorpaenidae).
''Species Diversity, 15 (2): 71–81.''
* ''Scorpaenodes guamensis'' (Jean René Constant Quoy, Quoy & Joseph Paul Gaimard, Gaimard, 1824) (Guam scorpionfish) [Motomura, H., Causse, R. & Struthers, C.D. (2016): Redescription of the Indo-Pacific scorpionfish ''Scorpaenodes guamensis'' (Quoy & Gaimard 1824) (Scorpaenidae), a senior synonym of seven nominal species. ''Zootaxa, 4067 (3): 345–360.'']
* ''Scorpaenodes hirsutus'' (J. L. B. Smith, 1957) (Hairy scorpionfish)
* ''Scorpaenodes immaculatus'' Stuart G. Poss, Poss & Bruce Baden Collette, Collette, 1990
* ''Scorpaenodes insularis'' Eschmeyer, 1971
* ''Scorpaenodes investigatoris'' [Eschmeyer & Kaza V. Rama Rao, Rama Rao, 1972
* ''Scorpaenodes kelloggi'' (Oliver Peebles Jenkins, O. P. Jenkins, 1903) (Kellogg's scorpionfish)
* ''Scorpaenodes minor'' (J. L. B. Smith, 1958) (Minor scorpionfish)
* ''Scorpaenodes muciparus'' (Alfred William Alcock, Alcock, 1889)
* ''Scorpaenodes parvipinnis'' (Andrew Garrett (explorer), A. Garrett, 1864) (Low-fin scorpionfish)
* ''Scorpaenodes quadrispinosus'' David Wayne Greenfield, D. W. Greenfield & Keiichi Matsuura, Matsuura, 2002 (Four-spine scorpionfish)
* ''Scorpaenodes rubrivinctus'' Poss, John E. McCosker, McCosker & C. C. Baldwin, 2010
* ''Scorpaenodes scaber'' (Edward Pierson Ramsay, E. P. Ramsay & James Douglas Ogilby, J. D. Ogilby, 1886) (Pygmy scorpionfish)
* ''Scorpaenodes smithi'' Eschmeyer & Rama Rao, 1972 (Little scorpionfish)
* ''Scorpaenodes steenei'' G. R. Allen, 1977 (Steene's scorpionfish)
* ''Scorpaenodes steinitzi'' Wolfgang Klausewitz, Klausewitz & Øystein Frøiland, Frøiland, 1970
* ''Scorpaenodes tredecimspinosus'' (Jan Marie Metzelaar, Metzelaar, 1919) (Deep-reef scorpionfish)
* ''Scorpaenodes tribulosus'' Eschmeyer, 1969
* ''Scorpaenodes varipinnis'' J. L. B. Smith, 1957 (Blotch-fin scorpionfish)
* ''Scorpaenodes xyris'' (D. S. Jordan & Charles Henry Gilbert, C. H. Gilbert, 1882) (Rainbow scorpionfish)
Characteristics
''Scorpaenodes'' scorpionfishes have a very bony head which is defended by numerous spines and lacks an occipital pit. There is a longitudinal suborbital ridge which has 1-4 spines and may have another row of spines underneath those. There are teeth on the centre of the roof of the mouth but not on its sides. The dorsal fin has 13 spines and between 8 and 10 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 4 or 5 soft rays, the posteriormost dorsal and anal soft rays are branched. There are 15-20 fin rays in the pectoral fin with the lower rays being branched and the central rays being the longest. The scales are rough and typically extend onto the head. There are small spiny rays at top and bottom of the base of caudal fin.[
]
Distribution and habitat
''Scorpaenodes'' scorpionfishes have a circum-tropical distribution and are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. They are found in coastal waters on coral and rocky reefs and other hard substrates.[
]
References
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Scorpaenini
Scorpaenodes,
Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker
Venomous fish
Marine fish genera