''Cheilodactylus'' 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 ...

Cheilodactylidae Cheilodactylidae , commonly called morwongs but also known as butterfish, fingerfins, jackassfish, sea carp, snappers, and moki, is a family of marine ray-finned fish. They are found in subtropical oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. The common ...

, known as morwongs, although this name is not unique to this family. They are found in the temperate waters of the southern hemisphere and in the North Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

''Cheilodactylus'' was first formally described in 1803 by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

naturalist

Bernard Germain de Lacépède Bernard-Germain-Étienne de La Ville-sur-Illon, comte de Lacépède or La Cépède (; 26 December 17566 October 1825) was a French naturalist and an active freemason. He is known for his contribution to the Comte de Buffon's great work, the ...

when he described ''Cheilodactylus fasciatus'' which was 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 ...

monotypy 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 ...

. The traditional delimitation of the families Cheilodactlidae and

Latridae Latridae commonly called trumpeters, is a family of marine ray-finned fish. They are found in temperate seas in the Southern Hemisphere. The classification of the species within the Latridae and the related Cheilodactylidae is unclear.They a ...

is based on morphological differences, but the reliability of these differences has been called into doubt, and a phylogenetic analyses and

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

have not supported this arrangement. This has led to some authorities suggesting that the majority of species in Cheilodactylidae should be placed in Latridae. A result of this rearrangement is that the only species which would remain in Cheilodactylidae are ''Cheilodactylus fasciatus'' and ''C. pixi'' from

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

. This is because these analyses resolved the genus ''Cheilodactylus'' as

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of converg ...

. These studies appear to show that most of the species in ''Cheilodactylus'' ''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'' instead apparently to belong in several different genera and are not even members of the same family, but how many and their exact delimitation is not clear at present. The outlier species have been assigned to '' Chirodactylus'', '' Goniistius'', '' Morwong'' and '' Pseudogoniistius'', but DNA and morphologic analyses found those species to be nested within

and more derived than the kelpfish, marblefish and the ''Cheilodactylus'' type species ''C. fasciatus''. The name of the genus is a compound of ''cheilos'' meaning “lip”, a reference to the thick, fleshy lips of the adults, and ''daktylos'' which means “finger”, a reference to the elongated lower rays on 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 ...

Species

The genus ''Cheilodactylus'' ''sensu lato'' includes sixteen species, this list shows the genera they have been assigned to under the proposed revised taxonomy: *''Cheilodactylus'' ** '' Cheilodactylus fasciatus'' Lacépède, 1803 (Redfingers) ** '' Cheilodactylus pixi'' M. M. Smith, 1980 (Barred fingerfin) *'' Chirodactylus'' ** '' Cheilodactylus spectabilis'' F. W. Hutton, 1872 (Red moki) *'' Goniistius'' ** '' Cheilodactylus francisi'' C. P. Burridge, 2004 (Blacktip morwong) ** '' Cheilodactylus gibbosus'' J. Richardson, 1841 (Western crested morwong) ** '' Cheilodactylus plessisi'' J. E. Randall, 1983 (Plessis' morwong) ** '' Cheilodactylus quadricornis'' Günther, 1860 ** '' Cheilodactylus rubrolabiatus'' G. R. Allen & Heemstra, 1976 ** '' Cheilodactylus vestitus'' ( Castelnau, 1879) (Crested morwong) ** '' Cheilodactylus vittatus'' A. Garrett, 1864 (Hawaiian morwong) ** '' Cheilodactylus zebra'' Döderlein ( de), 1883 (Redlip morwong) ** '' Cheilodactylus zonatus''

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 (Spottedtail morwong) *'' Morwong'' ** '' Cheilodactylus fuscus'' Castelnau, 1879 (Red morwong) ** '' Cheilodactylus ephippium''

McCulloch McCulloch is a Scottish surname. It's a variation of the Northern Irish surname McCullough. It's commonly found in Galloway. Notable people with the surname include: *Alan McCulloch (politician), New Zealand politician *Alan McLeod McCulloch ( ...

& Waite, 1916 (Painted moki) *'' Pseudogoniistius'' ** '' Cheilodactylus nigripes'' J. Richardson, 1850 (Magpie perch)

References

Marine fish genera * Fish described in 1803 Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède {{Perciformes-stub