''Bovitrigla'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

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 ...

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 ...

es 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 ...

Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins, one of two genera 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 subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Pterygotriglinae. Its only species, ''Bovitrigla acanthomoplate'', is found in the western

Pacific Ocean 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 definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Taxonomy

''Bovitrigla'' was first described as a genus in 1938 by the American

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 ...

Henry Weed Fowler Henry Weed Fowler (March 23, 1878 – June 21, 1965) was an American zoologist born in Holmesburg, Pennsylvania. He studied at Stanford University under David Starr Jordan. He joined the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and worked as ...

when he described its only species, ''Bovitrigla acanthomoplate'', the holotype of which was collected off Point Tagolo Light, near northern

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

in the Philippines at 8°47'N, 123°31'15"E by United States Bureau of Fisheries steamer '' USFS Albatross II''. The genus is classified within the subfamily Pterygotriglinae, alongside the rather more speciose ''

Pterygotrigla ''Pterygotrigla'' is a genus of genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins, one of two genera belonging to the subfamily Pterygotriglinae. These gurnards are found in the Indian and Pacific ...

''. The genus name is a combination of ''bos'', meaning "bull" and ''

Trigla The piper gurnard (''Trigla lyra''), also known as the piper or the lyre gurnard, is a species of marine, demersal ray-finned fish from the family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterran ...

'', the type genus of the Triglidae, Fowler did not explain this but it may allude to the bull-like appearance of its sizeable head. 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 ...

''acanthomoplate'' compounds ''acanthus'', meaning "thorn" or "spine" with ''omos'', which means "shoulder" and ''plate'', "blade", alluding to the “long, slender suprascapular spine, flaring out and back”.

Description

''Bovitrigla'' has a pair long spines on the snout and posttemporal bone, as well as spine on the postocular. English abstract The first

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 ...

has 8 spines and the second dorsal fin has 11 soft rays while 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 ...

has a single spine and 11 soft rays. The soft ray count may be 10 for the second dorsal fin and 11 for the anal fin. The colour of preserved specimens is plain brownish with no black spots. The largest

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...

had a total length of .

Distribution and habitat

''Bovitrigla'' is found in the Western Pacific Ocean and specimens have been collected near the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

and from southern Japan.f> It has been recorded from depths of .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13443087 Pterygotriglinae Taxa named by Henry Weed Fowler Fish described in 1938 Monotypic fish genera Monotypic marine fish genera Monotypic ray-finned fish genera