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 ...
of marine perciform
ray-finned fishes
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 h ...
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
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
William Sharp Macleay
William Sharp Macleay or McLeay (21 July 1792 – 26 January 1865) was a British civil servant and entomologist. He was a prominent promoter of the Quinarian system of classification.
After graduating, he worked for the British embassy in Pari ...
in 1841. It is one of the 5 constituent families in the
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 ...
Cirrhitoidea which is classified 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 ...
Percoidei
Percoidei is one of 3 suborders of bony fishes in the order Perciformes. Many commercially harvested fish species are considered to be contained in this suborder, including the snappers, groupers, basses, goatfishes and perches.
Divisions
The ...
of 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 ...
Perciformes
Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means ...
. Within the Cirrhitoidea, the Cirrhitidae is probably the most basal family. They have been placed in the order
Centrarchiformes
Centrarchiformes is an obsolete order of ray-finned fish, now included amongst the perciformes, with 17 previously included families. This order first appeared about 55.8 million years ago in the Eocene Era, and is composed primarily of omnivore ...
by some authorities, as part of the superfamily Cirrhitoidea, however, 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 the Centrarchiformes. The name of the family is taken from that of the
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 ...
''Cirrhitus'' which is derived from ''cirrhus'' meaning a "lock of hair" or "a barbel", thought to be a reference to lower, unbranched rays of the pectoral fins which
Bernard Germain de Lacépède
Bernard-Germain-Étienne de La Ville-sur-Illon, comte de Lacépède or La Cépède (; 26 December 17566 October 1825) was a French naturalist and an active freemason. He is known for his contribution to the Comte de Buffon's great work, the ...
termed as “''barbillons''”, which means "barbels" in his
description
Description is the pattern of narrative development that aims to make vivid a place, object, character, or group. Description is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as ''modes of discourse''), along with exposition, argumentation, and narr ...
of the
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
of the genus '' C. maculatus'', and which he thought to be “false”
pectoral fins
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 ...
. Another possibility is that the name refers to
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 ...
extending from the tips of the spines in 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 ...
spines, although Lacépède did not mention this feature.
Genera
The following 12 genera are classified within the Cirrhitidae, containing a total of 33 species:
* '' Amblycirrhitus''
Gill
A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...
Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Cirrhitops'' J.L.B Smith, 1951
* ''
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 ...
Tanaka
is the fourth most common Japanese name, Japanese surname. It is typically written with the kanji for . Less common variants include , , , , and .
People with the surname
*, Japanese musician formerly known as Boku no Lyric no Bōyomi
*, Japane ...
Cirrhitidae hawkfishes are roughly oblong in shape with a body which has a depth which is 21% to 50% of its
standard 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 m ...
. They have a fringe of cirri on the rear edge of the forward nostrils. There are two poorly developed spines, on the gill cover. The outer row of teeth on the jaws are canine-like, the longest normally being located at the front of the upper jaw and the middle of the lower jaw. Inside this row, there is a band of bristle-like teeth, wider in the front. 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 ...
is continuous, having 10 spines and 11-17 soft rays, it has an incision separating 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 ...
contains 3 spines and 5–7, typically 6, soft rays. There are 14
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 with the lowest 5-7 rays unbranched and normally thickened, with deep notches in the membranes separating these lower rays. There is a single spine in 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 as well as 5 soft rays. The
scales
Scale or scales may refer to:
Mathematics
* Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points
* Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original
* Scale factor, a number w ...
are
cycloid
In geometry, a cycloid is the curve traced by a point on a circle as it rolls along a straight line without slipping. A cycloid is a specific form of trochoid and is an example of a roulette, a curve generated by a curve rolling on another curve ...
and they lack a
swimbladder
The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled organ that contributes to the ability of many bony fish (but not cartilaginous fish) to control their buoyancy, and thus to stay at their current water depth w ...
. The colour and pattern vary between species. The maximum length attained is around , although around is more typical. Most species are quite small and colourfully patterned.
Distribution and habitat
Cirrhitidae hawkfishes are found in the tropical western and eastern Atlantic, Indian and Pacific, mainly in the
Indo-West Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth.
In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
region. They are
benthic
The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...
fishes which are found on coral reefs or rocky substrates, mostly inhabiting shallow water.
Biology
Cirrhitidae fishes use their robust lower pectoral-fin rays to wedge into position where they will be subjected to the forces of currents and waves. They are carnivorous fishes, their main prey being
benthic
The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...
crustaceans. One species, '' Cyprinocirrhitus polyactis'', mainly feeds on zooplankton, although it is frequently encountered resting on the substrate. Hawkfish frequently sit and wait on the higher parts of their habitat, diving onto prey items seen underneath them, in a similar manner to some
hawk
Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
* The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...
species, hence the name hawkfish.
Fisheries and utilisation
Cirrhitidae hawkfishes are mostly too small to be of interest to fisheries. The 3 largest species are occasionally fished for as
food fish
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingest ...
aquarium
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
trade.
Gallery
Image:Dwarf HawkFish.jpg,
Dwarf hawkfish
The dwarf hawkfish, (''Cirrhitichthys falco''), is a small species of hawkfish found on tropical reefs in the Indo-Pacific region from the Maldives to the Caroline Islands and Samoa. It can sometimes be found in the aquarium trade.
Taxonomy
Th ...
(''Cirrhitichthys falco''),
Sipadan
Sipadan ( ms, Pulau Sipadan) is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising from the seabed. It is located in the Celebes Sea off the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia. It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that ...
, Malaysia
Image:Long-nose_Hawkfish.jpg,
Longnose hawkfish
The longnose hawkfish (''Oxycirrhites typus'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a hawkfish belonging to the family Cirrhitidae. It is found on tropical reefs of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, where it can be found at depths around ...
(''Oxycirrhites typus''),
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...
Kona District, Hawaii
Kona is a ''moku'' or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii, known for its Kona coffee and the location of the Ironman World Championship Triathlon. In the current system of administration of Hawaii County, the ''moku'' o ...
Image:Cirrhitichthys aprinus.JPG, Spotted hawkfish (''Cirrhitichthys aprinus''), Lembeh Straits, Indonesia
Image:Coral Hawkfish .jpg, Coral hawkfish (''Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus''), Great barrier reef, Australia