''Brachypterois'' is a

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 ...

Scorpaenidae, the

scorpionfish The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As their name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venom ...

es. They are native to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

and 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

''Brachypterois'' was first formally described 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 ''Brachypterois serrulifer'', from the Philippines, as the only species in this

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. This genus is classified within the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

Pteroini Pteroini is a tribe of marine ray-finned fishes, one of two tribes in the subfamily Scorpaeninae. This tribe includes the lionfishes, sawcheek scorpionfishes and turkeyfishes. The taxonomy of the scorpionfishes is in some flux; the 5th Edition o ...

of 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 ...

Scorpaeninae Scorpaeninae is a subfamily of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae in the order Scorpaeniformes, it includes the scorpionfishes, the lionfishes and turkeyfishes. They bear venomous spines in the anal, dorsal and pelvic fins which ...

within the family Scorpaenidae. The genus was regarded as monotypic, with ''Sebastes serrulatus'', which was described by John Richardson in 1846, being regarded as a

senior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

of Fowler's ''B. serrulifer''. However, a review of the genus published in 2013 and which examined many specimens of ''Brachypterois'' from across the wide distribution of the genus concluded that there were 3 valid species within the genus and that Fowler's ''B. serrilifer'' was a separate species from Richardson's ''B. serrulata''. The genus name prefixes ''brachy'', which means "short", to the genus name ''

Pterois ''Pterois'' is a genus of venomous marine fish, commonly known as lionfish, native to the Indo-Pacific. Also called firefish, turkeyfish, tastyfish, or butterfly-cod, it is characterized by conspicuous warning coloration with red, white, cre ...

'', a reference to the shorter dorsal fin spines of these fishes compared to the ''Pterois'' species.

Species

There are currently three recognized species in this genus: * '' Brachypterois curvispina'' Matsunuma, M. Sakurai & Motomura, 2013 (Australian sawcheek scorpionfish) * '' Brachypterois serrulata'' ( J. Richardson, 1846) (Sawcheek scorpionfish) * '' Brachypterois serrulifer'' Fowler, 1938 (Sawmaxilla scorpionfish)

Characteristics

''Brachypterois'' is characterised by having a dorsal fin spine count which is typically 13, but is infrequently 12 or 14, 3 spines in 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 ...

, 5-8 branched rays in the

caudal 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 ...

with 3 procurrent rays on either side. The maxilla is clothed in scales; there are clear ridges on the jaw; the intraorbital space is flat and has scales. The dorsal, anal and pelvic fin spines have clear notches which contain

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

glands. There are no palatine teeth. The orbit and the suborbital ridge distinctly closed. There are 5 spines on the preoperculum. These are relatively small species which range in maximum

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 ...

from in ''B. curvispina'' to in ''B. serrulifer''.

Distribution

''Brachyterois'' scorpionfishes are found in the Indo-Pacific region, the most widespread species is ''B. serrulifer'' which is found from East Africa to the Philippines, ''B. curvispina'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to northeastern Australia and ''B. serrulata'' is found in the western pacific from the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...

to southern Japan.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13444300 Pteroini Marine fish genera Taxa named by Henry Weed Fowler