''Morwong'' is a

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 ...

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 ...

traditionally classified as a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

within the genus ''

Cheilodactylus ''Cheilodactylus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, known as morwongs, although this name is not unique to this family. They are found in the temperate waters of the southern hemisphere and in the N ...

'' and as 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 ...

Cheilodactylidae Cheilodactylidae , commonly called morwongs but also known as butterfish, fingerfins, jackassfish, sea carp, snappers, and moki, is a family of marine ray-finned fish. They are found in subtropical oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. The common ...

found in oceans off Australia and New Zealand. They were formerly included in the genus ''

'' in family

, but based on genetic and morphological analyses they have strongly suggested that the genus ''Morwong'' is a valid genus and should be placed in the family

Latridae Latridae commonly called trumpeters, is a family of marine ray-finned fish. They are found in temperate seas in the Southern Hemisphere. The classification of the species within the Latridae and the related Cheilodactylidae is unclear.They a ...

Taxonomy

''Morwong'' was first used as a name for a genus in 1957 when the Australian ichthyologist

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 ...

designated ''Cheilodactylus fuscus'' 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 ...

monotypy 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 ...

. It was, however, traditionally regarded as

synonymous A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with ''Cheilodactylus''. The genus name is the name in

Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language; while Australia has no official language, Engli ...

, the origins of which are unknown, for a number of similar fish species, mostly in the families Cheilodactylidae and Latridae. CheilodactylusEphippiumRLSLHI

Although the red morwong has usually been assigned to ''

'', DNA studies published in the early 2000s recovered ''Cheilodactylus fuscus'' as closer to ''

Nemadactylus ''Nemadactylus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. They are found in the South Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific Oceans. ...

'' than to the ''Cheilodactylus'' type species. In the meantime, John E. Randall has recommended using the generic name ''Morwong'' for ''C. fuscus''. In this case, ''Cheilodactylus ephippum'' would also become a referred species of ''Morwong'', as ''M. ephippum'', because Burridge and White (2000) and Burridge and Smolenski (2004) recovered it as sister to the red morwong. Genetic and morphological analyses have also strongly suggested that only two southern African species in ''Cheilodactylus'', '' C. fasciatus'' and '' C. pixi'', make up a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

and that all the other “morwongs” were closer to the Latridae.

Species

There are two recognized species in this clade: * '' Morwong ephippium'' (

McCulloch McCulloch is a Scottish surnames, Scottish surname. It's a variation of the Northern Irish surname McCullough. It's commonly found in Galloway. Notable people with the surname include: *Alan McCulloch (politician), New Zealand politician *Alan ...

& Waite, 1916) – painted moki * '' Morwong fuscus'' ( Castelnau, 1879) – red morwong

Characteristics

''Morwong'' is distinguished from related taxa by having 16-18 spines and 30-35 soft rays 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 ...

while 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 ...

has 3 spines and 8-9 soft rays. They have 13-14

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 5-6 being simple and robust. They are generally brown or red in colour. They have maximum lengths of for ''M. epphipium'' and for ''M. fuscus''. Compared to ''

Goniistius ''Goniistius'' is a subgenus of marine ray-finned fishes, traditionally classified as being within the genus ''Cheilodactylus'' and belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, known as morwongs, although this name is not unique to this family and t ...

'' ''Morwong'' has a shallower head and a shorter 4th dorsal fin spine while compared to ''

Chirodactylus ''Chirodactylus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. They are native to the Atlantic, Indian and eastern Pacific oceans of ...

'' they have a greater number of scales along the lateral line, 59–66 as opposed to 46–56, and a higher number of soft rays in the dorsal fin, 30–35 as opposed to 22–31.

Distribution, habitat and biology

''Morwong'' fishes are found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean in southeastern Australia, the Tasman Sea and northern New Zealand. These fishes inhabit rocky substrates where they feed on benthic invertebrates.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28432825 Latridae Ray-finned fish genera Cheilodactylus Animal subgenera