''Cocotropus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, velvetfishes belonging to the family Aploactinidae. The genus is found in the Indian and western Pacific oceans.

Taxonomy

Cocotropus was first described as a genus in 1858 by the German naturalist

Johann Jakob Kaup Johann Jakob von Kaup (10 April 1803 – 4 July 1873) was a German naturalist. A proponent of natural philosophy, he believed in an innate mathematical order in nature and he attempted biological classifications based on the Quinarian system. Kaup ...

as a monotypic genus, the only species

classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper *The Classified, a 1980s American roc ...

within it being ''Corythobatus echinatus'', which had been described in 1849 by the Danish zoologist

Theodore Cantor Theodore Edward (Theodor Edvard) Cantor (1809–1860) was a Danish physician, zoologist and botanist. Born to a Danish Jewish family, his mother was a sister of Nathaniel Wallich. Cantor worked for the British East India Company, and made natural ...

from

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

in Malaysia. The genus ''Cocotropus'' is classified within the family Aploactinidae in the

suborder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

Scorpaenoidei within the order Scorpaeniformes, although this family is also treated as a subfamily of the

stonefish ''Synanceia'' is a genus of ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Synanceiinae, the stonefishes, which is classified within the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and relatives. Stonefishes are venomous, dangerous, and fatal to huma ...

family

Synanceiidae Synanceiinae is a subfamily of venomous ray-finned fishes, waspfishes, which is classified as part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific oceans. They are primarily marin ...

within the Scorpaenoidei, which in turn is treated as a

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

within the order Perciformes. The name of the genus, ''Cocotropus'' was not explained by Kaup but may be a compound of ''coccum'', which means "scarlet", and ''tropus'', meaning "manner" or "way", so a "scarlet fish", however ''C. echinatus'' is reddish brown rather than scarlet.

Species

There are currently 17 recognized species in this genus: * ''

Cocotropus altipinnis ''Cocotropus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, velvetfishes belonging to the family Aploactinidae. The genus is found in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. Taxonomy Cocotropus was first described as a genus in 1858 by the German nat ...

'' Waite, 1903 (Highfin velvetfish) * ''

Cocotropus astakhovi ''Cocotropus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, velvetfishes belonging to the family Aploactinidae. The genus is found in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. Taxonomy Cocotropus was first described as a genus in 1858 by the German nat ...

'' Prokofiev, 2010 * ''

Cocotropus aurantius ''Cocotropus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, velvetfishes belonging to the family Aploactinidae. The genus is found in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. Taxonomy Cocotropus was first described as a genus in 1858 by the German nat ...

'' Matsunuma, Sado & Motomura, 2021 * ''

Cocotropus dermacanthus ''Cocotropus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, velvetfishes belonging to the family Aploactinidae. The genus is found in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. Taxonomy Cocotropus was first described as a genus in 1858 by the German nat ...

'' (

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Cocotropus echinatus ''Cocotropus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, velvetfishes belonging to the family Aploactinidae. The genus is found in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. Taxonomy Cocotropus was first described as a genus in 1858 by the German nat ...

'' ( Cantor, 1849) * ''

Cocotropus eksae ''Cocotropus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, velvetfishes belonging to the Family (biology), family Aploactinidae. The genus is found in the Indian Ocean, Indian and western Pacific oceans. Taxonomy Cocotropus was first described as a ge ...

'' Prokofiev, 2010 * '' Cocotropus izuensis'' Imamura, Aizawa & G. Shinohara, 2010 * ''

Cocotropus keramaensis ''Cocotropus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, velvetfishes belonging to the family Aploactinidae. The genus is found in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. Taxonomy Cocotropus was first described as a genus in 1858 by the German ...

'' Imamura & G. Shinohara, 2003 * ''

Cocotropus larvatus ''Cocotropus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, velvetfishes belonging to the family Aploactinidae. The genus is found in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. Taxonomy Cocotropus was first described as a genus in 1858 by the German ...

'' Poss & G. R. Allen, 1987 (Ghost velvetfish) * ''

Cocotropus masudai ''Cocotropus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, velvetfishes belonging to the Family (biology), family Aploactinidae. The genus is found in the Indian Ocean, Indian and western Pacific oceans. Taxonomy Cocotropus was first described as a ge ...

Matsubara is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 117,811 in 57351 households and a population density of 7100 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Matsubara is located in the cente ...

, 1943 * '' Cocotropus microps'' J. W. Johnson, 2004 (Patchwork velvetfish) * '' Cocotropus monacanthus'' ( Gilchrist, 1906) (Roughskin scorpionfish) * '' Cocotropus possi'' Imamura & G. Shinohara, 2008 * '' Cocotropus richeri'' R. Fricke, 2004 * '' Cocotropus roseomaculatus'' Imamura & G. Shinohara, 2004 * ''

Cocotropus roseus ''Cocotropus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, velvetfishes belonging to the family Aploactinidae. The genus is found in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. Taxonomy Cocotropus was first described as a genus in 1858 by the German natur ...

'' F. Day, 1875 * ''

Cocotropus steinitzi ''Cocotropus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, velvetfishes belonging to the family Aploactinidae. The genus is found in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. Taxonomy Cocotropus was first described as a genus in 1858 by the German ...

'' Eschmeyer &

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, 1978

Characteristics

''Cocotropus'' velvetfishes are characterised by the gill membranes not being attached to the isthmus which has fleshy extendtions. The anus is just in front of the origin of 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 ...

while the dorsal fin is continuous. There are parallel ridges between the eyes. The body is covered in velvety scales. The

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

has a single spine and 3 rays. These are small fishes, the largest is the roughskin scorpionfish (''C. monacanthus'') which reaches a maximum published total length of .

Distribution and habitat

''Cocotropus'' velvetfishes are found in the Indo-Pacific region from the eastern coasts of Africa to

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, north to Japan and south to Australia. They are little know fishes most often found sheltering in crevices, underneath coral rubble, or within coral-lined algal areas on either coral or rock reefs.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1532503 Aploactinidae Scorpaeniformes genera Taxa named by Johann Jakob Kaup