Cepolinae is one of two

subfamilies 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 ...

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 ...

belonging to

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 ...

Cepolidae, the bandfishes.

Taxonomy

Cepolinae was named by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque as the family Cepolidae. It became a subfamily when the genus ''

Owstonia ''Owstonia'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cepolidae, the bandfishes. It is the only genus in the monotypic subfamily Owstoninae. They are found in deep-waters of the Indian and Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy ''Owstonia ...

'' was added to the Cepolidae, having previously been considered a monotypic family Owstonidae, and now considered to be the subfamily Owstoninae. The name, Cepolinae, is derived from the Linnaeus’ 1764 name for the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal f ...

, ''Cepola'' and means "little onion", Linnaeus did not explain why he chose this name. It is likely derived from ''cepollam'' or ''cepulam'', which in 1686 was said by

Francis Willughby Francis Willughby (sometimes spelt Willoughby, la, Franciscus Willughbeius) FRS (22 November 1635 – 3 July 1672) was an English ornithologist and ichthyologist, and an early student of linguistics and games. He was born and raised at M ...

to be local names among

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

fishermen for the similar "''Fierasfer"'', a

pearlfish Pearlfish are marine fish in the ray-finned fish family Carapidae. Pearlfishes inhabit the tropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans at depths to , along oceanic shelves and slopes. They are slender, elongated fish with no sca ...

, to which Linnaeus believed ''

Cepola macrophthalma ''Cepola macrophthalma'' is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cepolidae, the bandfishes. It is found in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean from Senegal north to the British Isles. This species is known as the red ba ...

'' was related. As well as this, in 1872

Giovanni Canestrini Giovanni Canestrini (26 December 1835 – 14 February 1900) was an Italian naturalist and biologist and translator who was a native of Revò. Career He initially studied in Gorizia and Meran, then furthered his education in natural sciences at ...

reported that in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

the common name for ''C. macropthalma'' is ''Pesce cipolia'' meaning “onion fish”.

Genera

There are two

genera 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 nomenclat ...

in the subfamily Cepolinae, containing 9 species: * ''

Acanthocepola ''Acanthocepola'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cepolidae the bandfishes. They are native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy ''Acanthocepola'' is classified within the subfamily Cepolin ...

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Cepola ''Cepola'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the bandfish family, Cepolidae. The name red bandfish is applied to all members of this genus, but particularly ''C. macrophthalma'', and generally not ''C. australis'', which is al ...

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, 1764

Characteristics

Cepolinae bandfishes are clearly elongated in shape, more so than ''Owstonia'' bandfishes. They have total counts of 48-79 vertebrae and 55-90 soft rays 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 conv ...

. The last soft rays of both 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 joined to 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 ...

by a membrane. They vary 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 ''

Cepola australis The Australian bandfish (''Cepola australis'') is a species of bandfish in the family Cepolidae. It has been reported from the Indo-Pacific coastal regions of Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia, although some of these records may represen ...

'' to in ''Cepola macrophthalma''.

Distribution, habitat and biology

Cepolinae bandfishes are found in the eastern Atlantic, including the Mediterranean Sea, and in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific Ocean. They live over soft bottoms of sand and mud, burrowing into the substrate and feed on zooplankton.

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q3664952 Cepolidae Fish subfamilies