''Aplodactylus punctatus'', the Zamba marblefish, is a species 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 hor ...

, one of the marblefishes belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Aplodactylidae. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean of the west coast of South America.

Taxonomy

''Aplodactylus punctatus'' was first formally described in 1832 by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Achille Valenciennes Achille Valenciennes (9 August 1794 – 13 April 1865) was a French zoologist. Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. His study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasitology. ...

with the type locality given as Valparaiso in Chile. As it was the only species in the new

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Aplodactylus ''Aplodactylus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, commonly known as marblefishes or sea carps. It is the only genus in the monogeneric family, Aplodactylidae. The fishes in this genus are found in the south eastern Indian Ocean and the sou ...

'' at the time of its description, it is the

type species In 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 species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of that genus. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''punctatus'' means "spotted".

Description

''Aplodactylus punctatus'' has an elongate oblong and compressed body. The small mouth is located ventrally to the snout. The upper lips are fleshy, The teeth in the jaws are made up of three rows of tricuspid incisor like teeth with the outer row being larger than the others. There is a flattened spine on the operculum. The dorsal fin is deeply incised, it contains 16-17 spines and 18-21 soft rays, the soft-rayed part of the

dorsal fin 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 ...

is highest at front. 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 se ...

contains 3 spines. 2 of which are small and partly free of the membrane with the third tightly attached to the first ray, and 6-9 soft rays. The lowest pectoral fin rays are simpled have robust tips extending beyond the membrane. There is a scaly, flesh sheath at the base of the spiny part of the dorsal fin. The maximum recorded

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 ...

for this species is . The overall colour of this fish is olive green, fading ventrally, with the back and flanks having pale blotches, some of which create bars The body and the fins densely covered with small black spots, these sometimes merge to make short wavy lines. Fishes from the southern part of its range can be orange to yellow marked with black spots.

Distribution and habitat

''Aplodactylus punctatus'' is found in the temperate waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean along the western coast of South America where it is found from

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...

in Peru south to

Talcahuano Talcahuano () (From Mapudungun ''Tralkawenu'', "Thundering Sky") is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile. Geo ...

in Chile. It is found in the shallow coastal waters, the juveniles in tidal pools and the adults below the low tide mark, it is normally associated with the kelp ''

Lessonia trabeculata ''Lessonia trabeculata'' is a species of kelp, a brown alga in the genus '' Lessonia''. It grows subtidally off the coasts of Peru and northern and central Chile, with the closely related ''Lessonia nigrescens'' tending to form a separate zone in ...

'', at depths of .

Biology

''Aplodactylus punctatus'' is mostly herbivorous, grazing on brown, red and green algae, with a strong preference for green and red algae, digesting these by

acid hydrolysis In organic chemistry, acid hydrolysis is a hydrolysis process in which a protic acid is used to catalyze the cleavage of a chemical bond via a nucleophilic substitution reaction, with the addition of the elements of water (H2O). For example, in th ...

. This species has a close association with the kelp ''L. trabeculata'' throughout its life cycle. The juveniles feed on animals which live on the kelp fronds and so reducing the amount of grazers on the kelp and use the kelp to shelter in. The adults are herbivorous, consuming the kelp tissue for food. If the tissue eaten is reproductive, the grazing also act to reduce the amount of

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

algae on and around the sori. The algal

zoospores A zoospore is a motile asexual spore that uses a flagellum for locomotion. Also called a swarm spore, these spores are created by some protists, bacteria, and fungi to propagate themselves. Diversity Flagella types Zoospores may possess one or mor ...

can stay viable after digestion by the fishes, and microscopic

sporophytes A sporophyte () is the diploid multicellular stage in the life cycle of a plant or alga which produces asexual spores. This stage alternates with a multicellular haploid gametophyte phase. Life cycle The sporophyte develops from the zygote pro ...

were produced at similar rates in undigested and digested reproductive tissue. There appears to be a positive link between the Zamba marblefish and the kelp occurring throughout their geographic distribution and the fish may function as a disperser of ''L. trabeculata''.

Fisheries

''Aplodactylus punctatus'' is reputed to have very palatable flesh.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1847182 punctatus Fish described in 1832 Taxa named by Achille Valenciennes