Caracanthus
| Caracanthus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Spotted croucher (Caracanthus madagascariensis) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family: | Scorpaenidae |
| Subfamily: | Caracanthinae T. N. Gill, 1885[1] |
| Genus: | Caracanthus Krøyer, 1845 |
| Type species | |
| Caracanthus typicus Krøyer, 1845[2] | |
Caracanthus, the coral crouchers, or orbicular velvetfishes, are a genus of ray-finned fishes. They live in coral reefs of the tropical Indo-Pacific. This genus is the only member of the monotypic subfamily Caracanthinae, part of the family Scorpaenidae.
Taxonomy
[edit]Caracanthus was first formally described as a monotypic genus in 1845 by the Danish zoologist Henrik Nikolai Krøyer when he described the new species the Hawaiian orbicular velvetfish (Caracanthus typicus).[2] The genus is the only genus in the monotypic subfamily Caracanthinae within the family Scorpaenidae. Molecular studies have found that the Caracanthinae should probably be treated as a tribe within the subfamily Scorpaeninae, or possibly included in the tribe Scorpaenini.[3] The genus name is a compound of cara, meaning "head" and acanthus, meaning "thorn" or "spine", an allusion to the strong spines on the infraorbital bone of C. typicus.[4]
Characteristics
[edit]Caracanthus fishes have an oval, laterally compressed body which is covered in small, rough papillae with a small, terminal mouth. There is a single notch in the dorsal fin which has its origin on the nape and which contains between 6 and 8 spines and 11 and 14 soft rays. The anal fin has 2 spines and between 11 and 14 soft rays. There are 12 to 14 rays in the pectoral fins but the pelvic fins are small and barely noticeable, they have a single spine and 2 or 3 small soft rays. There are tiny scales on the head, each bearing a single spine.[3] Like the related velvetfishes, they have a velvety skin. The small pectoral fins are used to wedge themselves into crevices in the coral.[5] These small fishes vary in size from a maximum standard length of 2.9 cm (1.1 in) in C. typicus to a maximum total length of 5 cm (2.0 in) for the other 3 species.[6]
Species
[edit]There are currently four recognized species in this genus:[6]
- Caracanthus maculatus (J. E. Gray, 1831) (Spotted coral croucher)
- Caracanthus madagascariensis (Guichenot, 1869) (Spotted croucher)
- Caracanthus typicus Krøyer, 1845 (Hawaiian orbicular velvetfish)
- Caracanthus unipinna (J. E. Gray, 1831) (Pygmy coral croucher)
Distribution and habitat
[edit]Caracanthus fishes are found in the Indian and Pacific oceans where they are closely associated with coral, living among the coral branches.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of Recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 001–230. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1. PMID 25543675.
- ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Scorpaenidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- ^ a b c J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 468–475. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (2 October 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 9): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Family Scorpaenidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 176. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Caracanthus". FishBase. February 2022 version.