''Chirodactylus'' 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 ...

, traditionally regarded as 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 ...

, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. They are native to the Atlantic, Indian and eastern Pacific oceans off

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 ...

and South America.

Taxonomy

''Chirodactylus'' was described as a genus in 1862 by the American ichthyologist Theodore Nicholas Gill with the South American ''Cheilodactylus antonii'', which had been described by Achille Valenciennes in 1833, as the type species by monotypy. Gill subsequently included two other species in ''Chirodactylus'', ''C. grandis'' and ''C, variegatus''. C. antonii was later shown to be a synonym of ''Cheilodactylus variegatus''. Chirodactylus was largely regarded as a synonym of Cheilodactylus until 1980 when the South African ichthyologist Margaret M. Smith resurrected it to include the three southern African species ''C. brachydactylus'', ''C. grandis'' and ''C. jessicalenorum'', as well as ''C. variegatus''. Genetic and morphological analyses strongly suggest that ''Chirodactylus'' is a valid genus, that the inclusion of the

red moki The red moki (''Cheilodactylus spectabilis'') also known as the banded morwong, brown-banded morwong, carp or nanua is a species of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, commonly referred to ...

(''Cheilodactylus spectabilis'') does not affect its

monophyly In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic grou ...

and that the genus should be placed in the family

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 ...

. The 5th edition of Fishes of the World, however, retains the genus within the family Cheiloactylidae. The name of the genus is a compound of ''cheiros'' which means "hand" and ''dactylus'' meaning "finger", a reference to the long, unbranched lower rays of the pectoral fins.

Species

There are currently four recognized species in this genus (''sensu'' Smith, 1980): * ''

Chirodactylus brachydactylus ''Chirodactylus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. They are native to the Atlantic, Indian and eastern Pacific oceans of ...

'' (

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) (Two-tone fingerfin) * ''

Chirodactylus grandis ''Chirodactylus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. They are native to the Atlantic, Indian and eastern Pacific oceans of ...

'' ( Günther, 1860) (Bank steenbras) * ''

Chirodactylus jessicalenorum ''Chirodactylus jessicalenorum'', the natal fingerfin, is a species of ray-finned fish within the family Cheilodactylidae. It is found in the Indian Ocean off the coast of South Africa, at depths of 3 to 20 meters below sea level. Biology ''Ch ...

'' M. M. Smith, 1980 (Natal fingerfin) * ''

Chirodactylus variegatus ''Chirodactylus variegatus'', the Peruvian morwong or bilagai, is a species of marine ray-finned fish traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. It is found in the sout ...

'' (Valenciennes, 1833) (Peruvian morwong)

Characteristics

''Chirodactylus'' morwongs are characterised by having an ovoid, compressed body and a slightly sloped dorsal profile of the head. The continuous

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 ...

increases in height from the front spine to the sixth spine and after that the spines get shorter, there are 17-18 spines and 22-31 soft rays in the dorsal fin, 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 3 spines and 7-10 soft rays. 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 ...

s have 14 rays with the lower 6–7 rays being simple and robust. They have 46-56 scales along the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

. There are no bony protuberances on the head. These fishes 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 the case of ''C. brachydactylus'' to for ''C. grandis''.

Distribution, habitat and biology

''Chirodactylus'' (''sensu'' Smith, 1980) morwongs are found in the south eastern Atlantic and southwestern Indian Ocean off southern Africa and the eastern Pacific Ocean off Peru and Chile. They are typically coastal fishes of rocky areas where they feed on benthic invertebrates.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2167160 Chirodactylus Taxa named by Theodore Gill Latridae Cheilodactylidae