''Bellator'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

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 belonging to the

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

Triglidae Triglidae, commonly known as gurnards or sea robins, are a family of bottom-feeding scorpaeniform ray-finned fish. The gurnards are distributed in temperate and tropical seas worldwide. Taxonomy Triglidae was first described as a family in 18 ...

, one of two genera belonging to the subfamily

Prionotinae Prionotinae is a subfamily of demersal, marine ray-finned fishes, part of the family Triglidae. The fishes in this subfamily are called sea robins and are found in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans, the other two Triglid subfamilies ...

, the

sea robin Prionotinae is a subfamily of demersal, marine ray-finned fishes, part of the family Triglidae. The fishes in this subfamily are called sea robins and are found in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans, the other two Triglid subfamilies ...

s. These fishes are found in the Western Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific Ocean, in the waters off both North and South America.

Taxonomy

''Bellator'' was first described as a genus in 1896 by the 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, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of October ...

s David Starr Jordan and

Barton Warren Evermann Barton Warren Evermann (October 24, 1853 – September 27, 1932) was an American ichthyologist. Early life and education Evermann was born in Monroe County, Iowa in 1853. His family moved to Indiana while he was still a child and it was ...

, with''Prionotus militaris'', which had been described earlier in 1896 by

George Brown Goode George Brown Goode (February 13, 1851 – September 6, 1896), was an American ichthyologist and museum administrator. He graduated from Wesleyan University and studied at Harvard University. Early life and family George Brown Goode was born Februa ...

and

Tarleton Hoffman Bean Tarleton Hoffman Bean (October 8, 1846 – December 28, 1916) was an American ichthyologist. Biography and education Tarleton Hoffman Bean was born to George Bean and Mary Smith Bean in Bainbridge, Pennsylvania, on October 8, 1846. He attende ...

from off

Cape Catoche Cabo Catoche or Cape Catoche, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, is the northernmost point on the Yucatán Peninsula. It lies in the municipality of Isla Mujeres, about north of the city of Cancún. According to the International Hydrograph ...

Yucatán Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate mun ...

, Mexico, designated as its

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( ...

and also being its only species. The genus is one of 2 genera classified within the subfamily Prionotinae, the sea robins, in the gurnards family Triglidae. The genus name ''Bellator'' means "warrior", reflecting the specific name of the type species, which means "like a soldier", and is thought to be a reference to the elongate first two spines in 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 c ...

Species

Eight species in this genus are recognized: * '' Bellator brachychir'' (

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri' ...

, 1914) (shortfin sea robin) * '' Bellator egretta'' (Goode & T.H. Bean, 1896) (streamer sea robin) * ''

Bellator farrago Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) * ...

'' Richards & McCosker, 1998 (Medley searobin) * '' Bellator gymnostethus'' ( C. H. Gilbert, 1892) (naked-belly sea robin) * '' Bellator loxias'' (D.S. Jordan, 1897) (barred sea robin) * '' Bellator militaris'' (Goode & T.H. Bean, 1896) (horned sea robin) * '' Bellator ribeiroi'' G. C. Miller, 1965 (Caribbean searobin) * '' Bellator xenisma'' D. S. Jordan & Bollman, 1890 (splitnose sea robin)

Characteristics

''Bellator'' sea robina are characterised by a large, rather square-shaped bony head which bears a number of ridges and spines and has a thin intraorbital space. They may have a terminal or slightly inferior mouth with simple teeth on their jaws and on the roof of the mouth. They have two separate dorsal fins, typically containing 11 spines and 11 soft rays. The main part of the

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 are short with 12 rays and extend to the origin of

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 ...

and it has the 3 lowermost rays at free and separate from main fin. There are rough scales on the body except that the nape and upper rear flap of the operculum have no scales. The smallest species in the genus is ''B. ribeiroi'' which has a 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 ...

of and the largest is ''B. egretta'' with a maximum published total length of .

Distribution and habitat

''Bellator'' sea robins are found in the tropical and temperate waters of the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans off both North and South America. They can be found from rocky shallow waters to significant depths.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q629587 Prionotinae Marine fish genera Taxa named by David Starr Jordan Taxa named by Barton Warren Evermann