Stichaeinae is a subfamily of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...

es,

classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper *The Classified, a 1980s American roc ...

within the family

Stichaeidae Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies, are a family of marine ray-finned fishes in the suborder Zoarcoidei of the order Scorpaeniformes. Most species are found in the North Pacific Ocean with a few in the North Atlantic Ocean. Taxonomy Stic ...

, the pricklebacks or shannies. These fishes are found in the North Pacific, Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans.

Taxonomy

Stichaeinae contains the type taxon of the family Stichaeidae, the

Arctic shanny The Arctic shanny (''Stichaeus punctatus'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks and shannies. This species occurs in the North Pacific, Arctic and western North Atlantic Oceans. Taxonomy The ...

(''Stichaeus punctatus''), and the name is based on Theodore Gill’s 1864 name for the family. The name of the subfamily comes from that of its type genus ''Stichaeus'', which means “set in a row”, which may be an allusion to the row of black spots on the

dorsal fins A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

of the species in that genus.

Genera

Stichaeinae contains the following genera: ''

Dinogunellus ''Stichaeus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies. These fishes are mainly found in the North Pacific Ocean with one species in the Arctic and western North Atlantic Oceans. Ta ...

'' Herzenstein, 1890 is treated as a vaild genus by ''

Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes is a comprehensive on-line database and reference work on the scientific names of fish species and genera. It is global in its scope and is hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. It has been compiled and is continuously u ...

'' but ''

Fishbase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

'' does not and treats the 3 species classified within it as belonging to the genus ''

Stichaeus ''Stichaeus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies. These fishes are mainly found in the North Pacific Ocean with one species in the Arctic and western North Atlantic Oceans. Ta ...

''.

Characteristics

Stichaeinae pricklebacks are less elongated in shape than most of the other species in the family with a relatively large head which is smooth and scaleless. The

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as s ...

has 1 or 2 spines at the origin with between 0 and 3 spines behind them. They have large

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

s which contain between 14 and 18 rays while the

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two e ...

s have a single spine and between 3 and 5 soft rays. The head has well-developed sensory canals with paired sensory pores in the supraorbital, postorbital, suborbital,and occipital regions, The lateral line system on the body is complex with many canals and branches. There are teeth on the vomerine and

palatine A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.

and the gill membranes have a wide joint and are separated from the isthmus. The smalles species in this subfamily is the seven-lined prickleback (''Ernogrammus zhirmunskii'') with a maximum published

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of while the largest species are ''

Stichaeus grigorjewi ''Stichaeus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies. These fishes are mainly found in the North Pacific Ocean with one species in the Arctic and western North Atlantic Oceans. Ta ...

'' and ''

Stichaeus nozawae ''Stichaeus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies. These fishes are mainly found in the North Pacific Ocean with one species in the Arctic and western North Atlantic Oceans. Ta ...

'' which have maximum published

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

s of .

Distribution

Stichaeinae pricklebacks are mostly found in the North Pacific Ocean off eastern Asia and western North America but a few species extend through the Arctic Ocean into the northwestern Atlantic Ocean.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15849250 Stichaeidae Taxa named by Theodore Gill Taxa described in 1864 Fish subfamilies