''Branchiostegus'' 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 fishes 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 ...

tilefish 250px, Blue blanquillo, ''Malacanthus latovittatus'' Tilefishes are mostly small perciform marine fish comprising the family Malacanthidae. They are usually found in sandy areas, especially near coral reefs. Commercial fisheries exist for th ...

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 ...

Malacanthidae 250px, Blue blanquillo, ''Malacanthus latovittatus'' Tilefishes are mostly small perciform marine fish comprising the family Malacanthidae. They are usually found in sandy areas, especially near coral reefs. Commercial fisheries exist for th ...

. They are found in the eastern

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

through 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 ...

to 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 ...

. Here they create burrows in soft substrates in the comparatively deep waters of the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

and

slope In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a line is a number that describes both the ''direction'' and the ''steepness'' of the line. Slope is often denoted by the letter ''m''; there is no clear answer to the question why the letter ''m'' is use ...

Characteristics

''Branchiostegus'' tilefishes have a rectangular body shape with a square profile to the head. They have a raised seam situated to the anterior 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 ...

, this can be reduced but it is always there. They have a body which is around four times as long as it is deep. There are fine serrations on the preopercular upper arm while its lower arm has very few or no serrations and there is no spine at its angle. The operculum has a single flexible, blunt spine. The mouth is slightly angled and extend to the front of the eye. The dorsal and

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 ...

s are long and unbroken. The dorsal fin has 6 to 8 spines, typically 7 and 14 to 16, normally 15, soft rays. The anal fin contains 2 spines and 11 to 13, typically 12, soft rays. 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 ...

is rounded, truncate, or double emarginate and sometimes has elongated tips. They have pelagic larvae which have many spines on their heads and serrated ridges.

Species

There are currently 18 recognized species in this genus: * ''

Branchiostegus albus ''Branchiostegus albus'', is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae 250px, Blue blanquillo, ''Malacanthus latovittatus'' Tilefishes are mostly small perciform marine fish comprising the family ...

Dooley Dooley is an Irish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bill Dooley (born 1934), American football coach and brother of Vince Dooley * Billy Dooley, Irish hurling player * Brian Dooley (writer), British television writer * Brian J. ...

, 1978 * ''

Branchiostegus argentatus ''Branchiostegus argentatus'' is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish 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 oth ...

'' (

G. Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in nat ...

, 1830) * ''

Branchiostegus auratus ''Branchiostegus auratus'' is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae 250px, Blue blanquillo, ''Malacanthus latovittatus'' Tilefishes are mostly small perciform marine fish comprising the famil ...

'' (

Kishinouye was a Japanese fisheries biologist and cnidariologist and a professor of the Imperial University of Tokyo (Faculty of Agriculture) between 1908 and 1928. Kishinouye died in Chengtu of a sudden illness while on a collecting expedition to China. ...

, 1907) * ''

Branchiostegus australiensis ''Branchiostegus australiensis'', the Australian tilefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae 250px, Blue blanquillo, ''Malacanthus latovittatus'' Tilefishes are mostly small perciform ...

& Kailola, 1988 (Australian tilefish) * ''

Branchiostegus biendong ''Branchiostegus biendong'' is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae 250px, Blue blanquillo, ''Malacanthus latovittatus'' Tilefishes are mostly small perciform marine fish comprising the fami ...

'' Hiramatsu,

Vinh Vinh () is the biggest city and economic and cultural center of north-central Vietnam. Vinh is the capital of Nghệ An Province, and is a key point in the East–West economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The city is ...

, Endo, 2019 * ''

Branchiostegus doliatus ''Branchiostegus doliatus'', the ribbed tilefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae 250px, Blue blanquillo, ''Malacanthus latovittatus'' Tilefishes are mostly small perciform marine fi ...

'' (

, 1830) (Ribbed tilefish) * ''

Branchiostegus gloerfelti ''Branchiostegus gloerfelti'', the Australian tilefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae 250px, Blue blanquillo, ''Malacanthus latovittatus'' Tilefishes are mostly small perciform mar ...

& Kailola, 1988 * '' Branchiostegus hedlandensis''

& Kailola, 1988 (Port Hedland tilefish) * '' Branchiostegus ilocanus'' Herre, 1928 * ''

Branchiostegus japonicus ''Branchiostegus japonicus'', the horsehead tilefish, Japanese horsehead tilefish, red amadai or the red tilefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a tilefish belonging to the family Malacanthidae. It is native to the western Pacific Oc ...

'' ( Houttuyn, 1782) (Horsehead tilefish) * '' Branchiostegus okinawensis'' Hiramatsu &

Yoshino Yoshino may refer to: * Yoshino cherry, another name for ''Prunus × yedoensis'', a flowering cherry tree * Japanese cruiser Yoshino, Japanese cruiser ''Yoshino'', a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy Places * Yoshino, Nara, a town ...

, 2012 * '' Branchiostegus paxtoni''

& Kailola, 1988 (Paxton's tilefish) * '' Branchiostegus saitoi''

& Iwatsuki, 2012 * '' Branchiostegus sawakinensis'' Amirthalingam, 1969 (Freckled tilefish) * '' Branchiostegus semifasciatus'' (

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

, 1931) (Zebra tilefish) * '' Branchiostegus serratus''

& Paxton, 1975 (Australian barred tilefish) * '' Branchiostegus vittatus'' Herre, 1926 * '' Branchiostegus wardi'' Whitley, 1932 (Ward's tilefish)

Systematics

''Branchiostegus'' was created by the French naturalist Constantine Samuel Rafinesque (1783-1840) in 1815, with Lacépède's ''Coryphaenoides hottuynii'' (now recognised as a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of ''Branchiostegus japonicus'') 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 ...

. The genus name is a compound of ''branchios'' meaning "gill" and ''stegos'' meaning "cover". Rafinesque put this name forward without explanation but he placed the genus in a subfamily of Lophionota, an unavailable name for a grouping which approximates to the currently recognised

Coryphaenidae ''Coryphaena'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes known as the dolphinfishes, and is currently the only known genus in the family Coryphaenidae. The generic name is from Greek κορυφή (''koryphē'', "crown, top") and -αινα (-''aina'' ...

, in which he put

dolphinfish ''Coryphaena'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes known as the dolphinfishes, and is currently the only known genus in the family Coryphaenidae. The generic name is from Greek κορυφή (''koryphē'', "crown, top") and -αινα (-''aina'' ...

es,

sailfish The sailfish is one or two species of marine fish in the genus ''Istiophorus'', which belong to the family Istiophoridae (marlins). They are predominantly blue to gray in colour and have a characteristically large dorsal fin known as the sa ...

es and many other marine fishes and which were distinguished by the possession of branchiostegal membranes. The genus is currently placed in 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 ...

Latilinae.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1435304 Malacanthidae Marine fish genera Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque