Jordaniidae is a small

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 h ...

es belonging to the order

Scorpaeniformes The Scorpaeniformes are a diverse order of ray-finned fish, including the lionfishes and sculpins, but have also been called the Scleroparei. It is one of the five largest orders of bony fishes by number of species, with over 1,320. They are ...

. These fishes are found in the eastern North Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

Jordaniidae was first proposed as a subfamily, Jordaniinae, of the family

Cottidae The Cottidae are a family of fish in the superfamily Cottoidea, the sculpins. It is the largest sculpin family, with about 275 species in 70 genera.Kane, E. A. and T. E. Higham. (2012)Life in the flow lane: differences in pectoral fin morphology ...

in 1898 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 ...

David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann. The 5th edition of '' Fishes of the World'' classifies this family within the superfamily

Cottoidea A sculpin is a type of fish that belongs to the superfamily Cottoidea in the order Scorpaeniformes.Kane, E. A. and T. E. Higham. (2012)Life in the flow lane: differences in pectoral fin morphology suggest transitions in station-holding demand a ...

, in the suborder

Cottoidei Cottoidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes which, according to the 5th edition of ''Fishes of the World'', is placed within the order Scorpaeniformes, alongside the scorpionfishes, flatheads, eelpouts, sticklebacks and related fishes. Taxono ...

of the Scorpaeniformes. Other authorities classify this family within the

infraorder 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 ...

Cottales within the order

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 ...

, as they suggest that Perciformes is paraphyletic if the Scorpaneiformes are excluded from it. The

cabezon Cabezón is the Spanish word for "stubborn" or "big-headed". In Chile, cabezon means intelligent. Cabezon or cabezón may refer to: Fish species * Cabezon (fish) (''Scorpaenichthys marmoratus''), a species of fish in the family Cottidae * '' Cach ...

(''Scorpaenichthys marmoratus'') is classified within the Jordaniidae by some authorities but the 5th edition of ''Fishes of the World'' classifies this species in the monotypic family Scorpaenichthyidae. This family is regarded as one of the more basal members of the Cottoidea grouping.

Etymology

Jordaniidae takes its name from its

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 ...

, ''Jordania'', which was named by Edwin Chapin Starks in 1895 and Stark's' name honours David Starr Jordan who was his "teacher in ichthyology".

Genera and species

Jordaniidae contains two

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 "unispe ...

genera: * Genus '' Jordania'' Starks, 1895 ** ''

Jordania zonope The longfin sculpin (''Jordania zonope'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Jordaniidae, a small family of sculpins. This species is found in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. This species is the only known member o ...

'' Starks, 1895 (Longfin sculpin) * Genus '' Paricelinus'' C. H. Eigenmann & R. S. Eigenmann, 1889 ** '' Paricelinus hopliticus'' C.H. Eigenmann R.S. Eigenmann, 1889 (Thornback sculpin)

Characteristics

Jordaniidae sculpins have a single pharyngobranchial on the

gill arch Branchial arches, or gill arches, are a series of bony "loops" present in fish, which support the gills. As gills are the primitive condition of vertebrates, all vertebrate embryos develop pharyngeal arches, though the eventual fate of these arc ...

, 5 finrays in the pelvic fin a long body with a long based anal fin 2 separtae

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 c ...

s and reduced gills. These fishes reach a maximum published total length of .

Distribution and habitat

Jordaniidae sculpins are found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Alaska to California. They are demersal fish found from the intertidal zone to in rocky areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18021294 Cottoidea Taxa named by David Starr Jordan Taxa named by Barton Warren Evermann Ray-finned fish families