''Triglidae'', commonly known as gurnards or sea robins, are a

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 ...

of bottom-feeding scorpaeniform

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 ...

. The gurnards are distributed in temperate and tropical seas worldwide.

Taxonomy

''Triglidae'' was first described as a

in 1815 by the French

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

and

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; 22 October 178318 September 1840) was a French early 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ult ...

. In 1883

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

and Gilbert formally designated '' Trigla lyra'', which had been described by

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in 1758, as the

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 ...

of the

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 ...

''Trigla'' and so of the family Triglidae. The 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

'' classifies this family within the

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

Platycephaloidei Platycephaloidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes, part of the Order (biology), order Scorpaeniformes, and includes the Platycephalidae, flatheads, ghost flatheads and Triglidae, sea robins. Taxonomy Platycephaloidei was first recognised and n ...

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 ...

Scorpaeniformes The Scorpaeniformes are a diverse Order (biology), order of Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish, including the lionfishes and sculpins, but have also been called the Scleroparei. It is one of the five largest orders of bony fishes by number of spec ...

. Other authorities differ and do not consider the Scorpaeniformes to be a valid order because the

Perciformes Perciformes (), also called the Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish in the clade Percomorpha. ''Perciformes'' means " perch-like". Among the well-known members of this group are perches and darters ( Percidae), and als ...

order is not

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

without the

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

within the Scorpaeniformes being included. These authorities consider the Triglidae to belong to the suborder Triglioidei, along with the family

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 ...

, within the Perciformes. The family Peristediidae is included in the Triglidae as the subfamily Peristediinae by some authorities.

Etymology

Triglidae's name is based on that of Linneaus's genus ''Trigla'', the name of which is a classical name for the red mullet ('' Mullus barbatus''), Artedi thought the red mullet and the gurnards were the same as fishes from both taxa are known to create sounds taken out of the water as well as being red in color. Linnaeus realized they were different and classified ''Trigla'' as a gurnard, in contradiction of the ancient usage. They get one of their common names, sea robin, from the orange ventral surface of the species in the genus ''

Prionotus ''Prionotus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the Family (biology), family Triglidae, one of two genera belonging to the subfamily Prionotinae, the searobins. These fishes are found in the Western Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pa ...

'', and from large

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 ...

s which resemble a bird's wings. When caught, they make a croaking noise similar to a frog, which has given them the

onomatopoeic Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as ''oink'', '' ...

name gurnard.

Subfamilies and genera

Triglidae is divided into 3 subfamilies and 8 genera as listed below (including about 125 species). Some sources also include Trigloporus as a separate genus, but it is treated here as a subgenus of Chelidonichthys. * Prionotinae Kaup, 1873 ** '' Bellator'' Jordan & Evermann, 1896 (8 species) ** ''

'' Lacépède, 1801 (23 species) * Pterygotriglinae Fowler, 1938 ** '' Bovitrigla'' Fowler, 1938 (monotypic) ** '' Pterygotrigla'' Waite, 1899 (31 species) * Triglinae Rafinesque, 1815 ** '' Chelidonichthys'' Kaup, 1873 (10 species) ** '' Eutrigla'' Fraser-Brunner, 1938 (monotypic) ** ''

Lepidotrigla ''Lepidotrigla'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the Family (biology), family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. These gurnards are found in the Eastern Atlantic, Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. Taxonomy ''Lepidotrigl ...

'' Günther, 1860 (58 species) ** '' Trigla''

, 1758 (monotypic) These subfamilies have been given the rank of

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

, Prionotini, Pterygotriglini and Triglini, by some authorities. Prionotinae are regarded as the basal grouping with Triglinae being the most derived.

Characteristics

Triglidae gurnards have mouths which are either terminal or positioned slightly below the snout, which has its tip normally having paired rostral projections, frequently armed with spines, and these create the impression of a 2 lobed snout when seen from above. There are no barbels on the head and the preorbital bones typically project forward. The lower 3 rays of the

s are enlarged and free of the fin membrane. They have two separate

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 ...

s, the first having between 7 and 11 spines while the second has 10 to 23 soft rays. 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 ...

may not have any spines or it can have a single spine and 11 to 23 soft rays. The head is bony and resemble a casque. There are 9 or 10 branched rays in 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 ...

. The smallest species is the spotwing gurnard (''Lepidotrigla spiloptera'') which reaches a maximum

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 ...

of while the largest is the

tub gurnard The tub gurnard (''Chelidonichthys lucerna''), also known as the sapphirine gurnard, tube-fish, tubfish or yellow gurnard, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the Family (biology), family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. It ...

(''Chelidonichthys lucerna'') which has a maximum published total length of . Most species are around in length with the females typically being larger than the males. They have an unusually solid skull, and many species also possess armored plates on their bodies. Another distinctive feature is the presence of a "drumming muscle" that makes sounds by beating against the swim bladder. The length of the swim bladder has a negative correlation to gonadal development. A sexual dimorphism of swim bladder size is created due to the negative correlation being stronger in females then in males. Sea robins have three "walking rays" on each side of their body. They are derived from the supportive structures in the pectoral fins, called fin-rays. During development, the fin-rays separate from the rest of the pectoral fin, developing into walking rays. These walking rays have specialized muscle divisions and unique anatomy that differ from typical fin-rays to allow them to be used as supportive structures during underwater locomotion. These walking rays have been shown to be used for locomotion as well as prey detection on the seafloor via chemoreception ("tasting") highly sensitive to the amino acids prevalent in some marine invertebrates.

Survival and Reproduction

Classified as carnivores, gurnards mainly feed on crustaceans. Most species are opportunistic predators and will feed on prey such as

teleost Teleostei (; Ancient Greek, Greek ''teleios'' "complete" + ''osteon'' "bone"), members of which are known as teleosts (), is, by far, the largest group of ray-finned fishes (class Actinopterygii), with 96% of all neontology, extant species of f ...

and

mollusks Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The num ...

as well. Gurnards do not have a primary predator; however, larger fish, marine mammals, birds, and humans will prey on gurnards. They are bottom-dwelling fish, living down to 200 m (660 ft), although they can be found in much shallower water. When it comes to preferred water depths, adult gurnards will favor deeper water while juveniles will favor shallower water. The different genera of gurnards have diverse offspring spawning periods, varying in length and time of year. For example, tub gurnard spawning period takes place from December to March, and red gurnard spawning takes place from September to May.

As food

Chelidonichthys lucerna filetti burrro e salvia

Gurnard have firm white flesh that holds together well in cooking, making them well-suited to soups and stews. They are commonly used in the French dish ''

bouillabaisse Bouillabaisse ( , , ; ) is a traditional Cuisine of Provence, Provençal fish soup originating in the port city of Marseille. The word is originally a compound of the two Provençal verbs ('to boiling, boil') and ('to reduce heat', i.e. 'sim ...

''. One source describes gurnards as "rather bony and lacking in flavour"; others praise its flavour and texture. They were often caught in British waters as a

bycatch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...

and discarded. However, as other species became less sustainable and more expensive they became more popular, with the wholesale price between 2007 and 2008 reported to have increased from £0.25 per kg to £4, and sales increasing tenfold by 2011. Gurnards also are now appearing in fish markets in the U.S.

Angling

Sea robins can be caught by dropping a variety of baits and lures to the seafloor, where they actively feed. Mackerel is believed to be the most efficient bait for catching sea robins, but crabs,

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

and other fish meat can also be used successfully depending on location. Sea robins can also be caught by lure fishing if lured near the

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (aquatic environment), the earthy material that exi ...

. They are often considered to be

rough fish Rough fish (or the slang trash fish or dirt fish) is a term used by some United States state agencies and anglers to describe fish that are less desirable to sport anglers within a defined region. The term usually refers to larger game fish speci ...

, caught when fishing for more desirable fish such as

striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has ...

or flounder. Gurnard are also used as bait, for example by lobster fishermen.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Marine fish families Taxa named by Antoine Risso Perciformes families