''Trachyscorpia'' 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

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 ...

Sebastinae Sebastinae is a subfamily of marine fish belonging to the Family (biology), family Scorpaenidae in the Order (biology), order Scorpaeniformes. Their common names include rockfishes, rock perches, ocean perches, sea perches, thornyheads, scorpion ...

, the rockfishes, part of 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 species in this genus are found in 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 The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five 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 bounded by the cont ...

oceans.

Taxonomy

''Trachyscorpia'' was first described as a genus by the Lithuanian-born 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 ...

Isaac Ginsburg Isaac Ginsburg (August 9, 1886 – September 2, 1975) was a Lithuanian-born American ichthyologist.described by the American ichthyologists George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean in 1896 from off

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, 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 ...

. The generic name, ''Trachyscorpia'' is a compound of ''trachys'', meaning "coarse" or "rough", and ''scorpia'', which means "scorpion", the first part is a reference to the

ctenoid scales A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as w ...

of the type species and the second is derived from ''

Scorpaena ''Scorpaena'' is a widespread genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. Taxonomy ''Scorpaena'' was first described as a genus in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th Edition of his ''Systema Naturae' ...

'' the original genus of ''T. cristulata''.

Species

There are currently seven recognised species in this genus: * '' Trachyscorpia carnomagula'' Motomura,

Last A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts come in many styles and sizes, depending on the exact job they are designed for. Common variations ...

Yearsley Yearsley is a small village and civil parish in the county in North Yorkshire, England. The population of the civil parish was less than 100 at the 2011 Census. Details are included in the civil parish of Brandsby-cum-Stearsby. It is situate ...

, 2007 (deepsea scorpionfish) * '' Trachyscorpia cristulata'' ( Goode & T. H. Bean, 1896) (Atlantic thornyhead) * '' Trachyscorpia echinata'' (

Koehler Koehler is a transliteration of the German occupational surname Köhler, literally meaning "charcoal burner". Notable people with the surname include: * Ana Luiza Koehler (born 1977), Brazilian comics artist and architect. * Arthur Koehler (188 ...

( fr), 1896) (spiny scorpionfish) * '' Trachyscorpia eschmeyeri'' Whitley, 1970 (Cape rockfish) * '' Trachyscorpia longipedicula'' Motomura,

, 2007 (stylish scorpionfish) * '' Trachyscorpia osheri'' McCosker, 2008 * '' Trachyscorpia verai'' Béarez & Motomura, 2009 (Ecuadorian deep-sea scorpionfish)

Characteristics

''Trachyscorpia'' is characterised by having a large head, which is almost half the length of the body, with a short snout and robust bones with strong spines. They do not have a pit located to the rear of their eyes. The eyes are quite large and have a horizontal ridge running beneath them which is armed with spines. The preoperculum has 4–5 spines, with the 1st spine being longer than the others and this spine has a main spine and a supplementary spine. There are 13 spines and between 8 and 10 soft rays in 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 ...

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 3 spines and 5 soft rays, 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 ...

is not wedge shaped and is bilobed with longest rays at top, there are 21–24 pectoral fin rays and the upper rays are branched. In larger fish the lower pectoral fin rays are fleshy, Thera are rough scales on cheek, in the intraorbital space and behind the eyes while the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

is complete, it reaches the base of the

caudal 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 only ...

, and has tubed scales. These species have maximum lengths which vary from

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 ...

in ''T. osheri'' up to a

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

in ''T. echinata''.

Distribution and habitat

''Trachyscorpia'' thornyheads are found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. They are demersal fish which are usually found at depths greater than .

Biology

''Trachyscorpia'' thornyheads are thought to be oviparous and, like other taxa in the tribe Sebastolobini, the females likely extrude internally fertilised eggs in gelatinous masses which float. They have venomous spines. They are predatory fishes feeding on benthic invertebrates and on other fishes.

References

Sebastolobini Marine fish genera Taxa named by Isaac Ginsburg {{Scorpaeniformes-stub