The daruma stinger (''Dampierosa daruma''), also known as the North-western stonefish, is a species of

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

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 stonefish belonging to 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 ...

Synanceiinae 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 marine, ...

of 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 ...

Scorpaenidae The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As their name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venom ...

, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. It is the only species in the

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 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 ...

''Dampierosa'' and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Australia.

Taxonomy

The daruma stinger was first formally described in 1932 by the Australian

ichthyologist 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 Octobe ...

Gilbert Percy Whitley Gilbert Percy Whitley (9 June 1903 – 18 July 1975) was a British-born Australian ichthyologist and malacologist who was Curator of Fishes at the Australian Museum in Sydney for about 40 years. He was born at Swaythling, Southampton, England, an ...

with the type locality given as off Broome in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Whitley described it as the only species in the monotypic genus ''Dampierosa'' but it has also been considered to be a member of the genus '' Erosa'' together with the pitted stonefish (''E. erosa''). The genus ''Dampierosa'' is classified within the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

Synanceiini Synanceiini commonly known as stonefishes, is a tribe of venomous ray-finned fishes classified within the subfamily Synanceiinae, the stonefishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are found ...

which is one of three tribes in the subfamily Synanceeinae within the family Scorpaenidae. However, other authorities regard Synanceiidae as a valid family and the Synanceiini as the subfamily Synanceiinae. The genus name is presumed to be a combination of Dampier, the

Dampier Peninsula The Dampier Peninsula is a peninsula located north of Broome and Roebuck Bay in Western Australia. It is surrounded by the Indian Ocean to the west and north, and King Sound to the east. It is named after the mariner and explorer William Damp ...

which lies north of Broome and ''Erosa'', the genus it is closely related to. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''daruma'' was not explains but it is likely to be Japanese and to be an allusion to the bulbous head of this species, ''daruma'' being applied to squat Buddha figures and to some large-headed fishes.

Description

The daruma stinger has a large smoothly rounded head, with no hump over the eyes and no occipital pit. The pectoral and caudal fins are banded with dark bases, wide white bands in the middle, a dark sub-marginal band and a pale margin. This species has a maximum total length of . They have venomous spines in the fins.

Distribution and habitat

The daruma stinger is found off northwestern Australia, it is a benthic species found on inshore reefs in shallow waters down to depth.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28745745, from2=Q28745746 Fish described in 1932 Synanceiini Taxa named by Gilbert Percy Whitley