The large-scaled gurnard (''Lepidotrigla cavillone'') 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, demersal
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 ...
from 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 ...
Triglidae
Triglidae, commonly known as gurnards or sea robins, are a family of bottom-feeding scorpaeniform ray-finned fish. The gurnards are distributed in temperate and tropical seas worldwide.
Taxonomy
Triglidae was first described as a family in 181 ...
, the gurnards and sea robins. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Taxonomy
The large-scaled gurnard was first formally
described as ''Trigla cavillone'' in 1801 by the French
naturalist with the
type locality given as the Mediterranean Sea.
In 1860 the German-born British
herpetologist
Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...
and
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 ...
Albert Günther
Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther FRS, also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther (3 October 1830 – 1 February 1914), was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. Günther is ranked the second-most productive re ...
described a new
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 ...
, ''
Lepidotrigla
''Lepidotrigla'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. These gurnards are found in the Eastern Atlantic, Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.
Taxonomy
''Lepidotrigla'' was first desc ...
'' and in 1919 the American ichthyologist
David Starr Jordan
David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Univer ...
designated ''Trigla aspera'' as its
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 ...
.
''Trigla aspera'' had been described in 1829 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 ...
Georges Cuvier
Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier ...
but was is now considered to be a
junior synonym
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
* In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...
of Lacépède's ''Trigla cavillone''.
[ 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 ...
''cavillone'' was the common name for this fish along France's southern coast and derives from ''caville'' or ''cheville'' both of which mean "peg" or "plug".
Description
The large-scaled gurnard has a large head armoured with large bony plates. There is a deep, clear occipital groove which is spiny. There are 2 spines in front of the eyes and the front spines on the snout are the longest. There are no vomerine teeth
The vomer (; lat, vomer, lit=ploughshare) is one of the unpaired facial bones of the skull. It is located in the midsagittal line, and articulates with the sphenoid, the ethmoid, the left and right palatine bones, and the left and right maxill ...
. The longest of the free 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 ...
rays is short and does not extend as far as the anus. There are between 8 and 10 spines in the first dorsal fin and the second dorsal fin and the anal fin Have between 14 and 16 soft rays. There are no scales on the breast and the scales on the body are firmly attached to the skin. The scales are ctenoid and their width is greater than the length. The colour is pink or dusky pink with contrasting dark blue pectoral fins which have pink bases.[
]
Distribution and habitat
The large scaled gurnard is found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean from Portugal south to Mauritania. It is also found throughout the Mediterranean Sea but is absent from the Black Sea.[ This species occurs on muddy sand and gravel substrates][ at depth$ between .][
]
Biology
The large-scaled gurnard feeds on crustaceans, especially mysids and amphipods. Spawning takes place between May and July and the larvae are pelagic. The average age at which sexual maturity is reached is around 2 years old.[
]
Fisheries
The large-scaled gurnard is caught as a bycatch but trawlers and is usually discarded as the fish are rather small. Mant countries do not keep specific data on gurnard landings. It is frequently sold in fish markets in the western Mediterranean, Cyprus and Turkey.[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1463936
Largescaled gurnard
Fish described in 1801
Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède