The blackspotted hawkfish (''Cristacirrhitus punctatus'') is a species 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 ...
, a
hawkfish
Cirrhitidae, the hawkfishes, are a family of marine perciform ray-finned fishes found in tropical seas and which are associated with coral reefs.
Taxonomy
The Cirrhitidae were first recognised as a family by the Scots-born Australian naturalis ...
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 ...
Cirrhitidae
Cirrhitidae, the hawkfishes, are a family of marine perciform ray-finned fishes found in tropical seas and which are associated with coral reefs.
Taxonomy
The Cirrhitidae were first recognised as a family by the Scots-born Australian naturalis ...
. It is native to rocky shores of the western
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 ...
. This species grows to in
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 ...
. This species is the only known member of its
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 ...
.
Taxonomy
The blackspotted hawkfish was first formally
described in 1829 as ''Cirrhitus punctatus'' 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 ...
zoologist
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
Georges Cuvier
Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier ...
with the
type locality given as Madagascar.
In 2001
John Ernest Randall
John Ernest "Jack" Randall (May 22, 1924 – April 26, 2020) was an American ichthyologist and a leading authority on coral reef fishes. Randall described over 800 species and authored 11 books and over 900 scientific papers and popular articles. ...
placed it in a new
monotypic
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 ...
genus, ''Cristacirrhitus''.
The genus name is a
compound
Compound may refer to:
Architecture and built environments
* Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall
** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struct ...
of ''crista'' meaning "crest", a reference to the ridge of bone over the eye and ''
Cirrhitus
''Cirrhitus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, hawkfishes from the family Cirrhitidae. The species in this genus are found on tropical reefs worldwide.
Taxonomy
''Cirrhites'' was first formally described as a genus in 1803 by the French ...
'' 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 ...
of the family Cirrhitidae, in which genus Cuvier had originally placed it. The
specific name ''punctatus'' means "spotted", a reference to brown blotches and black spots this species has.
Description
The black spotted hawkfish has a snout which is not overly elongated and a deep body. The mouth has an outer row of canine teeth and an inner row of much smaller villiform teeth, the canines are notably larger at the front of the upper jaw and side of the lower jaw. There are two rows of
cirri
Giovanni Battista Cirri (1 October 1724 – 11 June 1808) was an Italian cellist and composer in the 18th century.
Biography
Cirri was born in Forlì in the Emilia-Romagna Region of Italy. He had his first musical training with his brother ...
and a flap on the posterior edge of the anterior nostril. 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 truncate or rounded. The lowest 7
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 ...
rays are unbranched and robust, the pectoral fins are long reaching past the tips of 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 ...
s.
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 ...
has 10 spines and 11 soft rays 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 spies and 6 soft rays.
[ There is an obvious bony ridge, starting to the rear of the eye and having a length equal to of half the diameter of the eye.][
]
Distribution and habitat
The blackspotted hawkfish is found in the western Indian Ocean on rocky shorelines in South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion.[
]
References
External links
https://www.fishwisepro.com/pictures/details/Cristacirrhitus-punctatus?sid=120446&pictureId=5
{{Taxonbar, from=Q639409, from2=Q2045711
Cirrhitidae
Monotypic fish genera
Fish described in 1829
Taxa named by Georges Cuvier