The jaggedhead gurnard (''Gargariscus prionocephalus'') is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
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 ...
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 ...
Peristediidae
Peristediidae, the armored sea robins or armoured gurnards, is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the suborder Platycephaloidei in the order Scorpaeniformes. They are found in the deep water in the tropical and warm temperate of the wor ...
, the armoured gurnards or armored searobins. This species is found in the eastern
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 ...
and the western
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. It 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 jaggedhead gurnard was first formally
described as ''Peristethidion prionocephalum'' in 1869 by the French
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 ...
Auguste Henri André Duméril Auguste may refer to:
People Surname
* Arsène Auguste (born 1951), Haitian footballer
* Donna Auguste (born 1958), African-American businesswoman
* Georges Auguste (born 1933), Haitian painter
* Henri Auguste (1759–1816), Parisian gold and ...
with the
type locality given as
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
.
In 1917
Hugh McCormick Smith
Hugh McCormick Smith, also H. M. Smith (November 21, 1865 – September 28, 1941) was an American ichthyologist and administrator in the United States Bureau of Fisheries.
Biography
Smith was born in Washington, D.C. In 1888, he received a Docto ...
described a new species ''Gargariscus semidentatus'' and 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 ''Gargariscus''. This taxon was subsequently regarded as a junior synonym of Duméril‘s ''P. prionocephalum'', although Smith’s genus has been recognised as valid.
The genus name ''Gargariscus'' means “gullet” or “throat”, an allusion Smith did not explain but may refer to the wide band of teeth on the premaxillaries. The specific name ''prionocephalum'' isa combination of prion, meaning “saw” and ''cephalus'', which means “head”, referring to the serrations on the edge of the head shield.
Description
The jaggedhead gurnard has a wide shield over the head,
with saw-like serrations along its margin.
and it has large barbels on the lower jaw.
[ The head is triangular in shape and flattened with a short, wide process on the rostrum and a robust and sharp spine on the preoperculum.][ This species attains a maximum ]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 ...
of .[
]
Distribution and habitat
The jaggedhead gurnard is found in the Indo-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 ...
where it has been recorded from: Japan south to the Philippines and the Arafura Sea. In Australia it has been recorded from Darwin to North West Cape
North West Cape is a peninsula in the north-west of Western Australia. Cape Range runs down the spine of the peninsula and Ningaloo Reef runs along the western edge. It is in the Gascoyne region and includes the town of Exmouth.
History
In 1618, ...
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 ...
.[ It is a deepwater fish of the continental shelf,][ down to .][
]
Biology
The jaggedhead gurnard can "walk" along the seabed using the separate lower fin rays of its 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 ...
s, glide over the substrate by extending its pectoral fins and use the barbels on its lower jaws to search for food.[
]
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3001771
Peristediidae
Fish described in 1869
Taxa named by Auguste Duméril