''Ctenosciaena'' 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 ...

Sciaenidae Sciaenidae are a family of fish in the order Acanthuriformes. They are commonly called drums or croakers in reference to the repetitive throbbing or drumming sounds they make. The family consists of about 286 to 298 species in about 66 to 70 gen ...

, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the Western Atlantic and southeastern Pacific Oceans.

Taxonomy

''Ctenosciaena'' was first proposed as a monospecific subgenus of ''

Sciaena ''Sciaena'' is a genus of fish in the family Sciaenidae. They are native to Pacific, South America and Eastern Atlantic. Species There are currently 3 recognized species in this genus:Béarez, P. & Schwarzhans, W. (2013): ''Robaloscion'', a new ...

'' in 1923 by the American

ichthyologists Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of October ...

Henry Weed Fowler Henry Weed Fowler (March 23, 1878 – June 21, 1965) was an American zoologist born in Holmesburg, Pennsylvania. He studied at Stanford University under David Starr Jordan. He joined the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and worked as ...

and

Barton Appler Bean Barton Appler Bean was an American ichthyologist, born May 21, 1860 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and died June 16, 1947 in Chemung, New York, after falling from a bridge. He was the brother of the ichthyologist Tarleton Hoffman Bean (1846-1 ...

when they described ''Sciaena (Ctenosciaena) dubia''. This taxon was later found to be a junior synonym of ''Umbrina gracilicirrhus'' which had been described by the Dutch ichthyologist Jan Marie Metzelaar from the coast of Venezuela. This genus has been placed in the

subfamily 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 ...

Sciaeninae by some workers, but the 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the ...

'' does not recognise subfamilies within the Sciaenidae which it places in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Acanthuriformes Acanthuriformes is an order of ray-finned fishes, part of the Percomorpha clade. Some authorities place the fishes in the order within the Acanthuriformes in the suborders Acanthuroidea and Percoidea of the order Perciformes. Classification The ...

Etymology

''Ctenosciaena'' is a combination of ''cteno'', from

ctenoid A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as ...

and ''Sciaena'' as ''Sciaena dubia'' seemed to have

ctenoid scale A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as we ...

s, most of which had fallen off the type specimen, ''

Sciaena umbra The brown meagre or corb (''Sciaena umbra'') is a species of croaker found in, the eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea occurring in shallow waters and sandy bottoms. It is harvested for human consumption, especially in the Mediterr ...

'' has

cycloid scale A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as w ...

Species

''Ctenosciaena'' has the following two species classified within it: * ''

Ctenosciaena gracilicirrhus ''Ctenosciaena'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the Western Atlantic and southeastern Pacific Oceans. Taxonomy ''Ctenosciaena'' was first proposed as a ...

'' ( Metzelaar, 1919) (Barbel drum) * ''

Ctenosciaena peruviana ''Ctenosciaena'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the Western Atlantic and southeastern Pacific Oceans. Taxonomy ''Ctenosciaena'' was first proposed as a ...

'' Chirichigno F., 1969 (Peruvian barbel drum)

Characteristics

''Ctenosciaena'' barbel drums have an oblong, compressed body with a large head which has a large eye and a moderately large mouth, opening just underneath the snout. There is a small, slender, central barbel on the chin which has no pores and has 2 pairs pf pores beside it. The

preoperculum This glossary of ichthyology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in ichthyology, the study of fishes. A B C ...

may be smooth or have slight serrations. 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 a high spiny part and is deeply incised, the incision separateing the spiny and soft-rayed parts. 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 a pair of weak spines. 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 ...

ends in a blunt, angular point. The scales are large ctenoid on the bodyand cycloid on the head. The scales of 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 ...

reach to the center of the end of the caudal fin. Both species in the genus have maximum published

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 ...

s of .

Distribution and habitat

''Ctenosciaena'' has a Pacific species, ''C. peruviana'', which is found off western South America along the coast of Ecuador and Peru, with records from southern Colombia. It occurs over muddy and rocky bottoms at depths between , while ''C. gracilicirrhus'' is found the Caribbean and Western Atlantic from Nicaragua south to southern Brazil at depths between over sandy or muddy bottoms in coastal waters.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2439800 Sciaenidae Taxa named by Henry Weed Fowler Taxa named by Barton Appler Bean