Opisthocentrinae is a subfamily 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, classified within the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies. These fishes are found in the North Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

Opisthocentrinae was first put forward as a subfamily 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 places this subfamily in the family Stichaeidae but other authorities treat this taxon as valid family within the suborder

Zoarcoidei Zoarcoidei is a suborder of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Scorpaeniformes. The suborder includes the wolffishes, gunnels and eelpouts. The suborder includes about 400 species. These fishes predominantly found in the boreal s ...

, either in the

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 ...

, or the

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 ...

. The name of the subfamily is taken 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 ...

''Opisthocentrus'' which is a combination of ''opistho'', meaning "behind", and ''kentron'', which means "thorn" or "spine", an allusion to the spines on the 11th and 12th 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 c ...

of ''O. ocellatus''.

Etymology

''Opisthocentrus'' is a combination of ''opistho'', meaning "behind", and ''kentron'', which means "thorn" or "spine", an allusion to the spines on the 11th and 12th rays in the

of ''O. ocellatus''.

Genera

The subfamily contains the following genera:

Characteristics

Opisthocentrinae fishes are characterised by having elongate bodies which are relatively deep. They do not have any appendages in the skin of the head. The anal fin has with 1 or 2 spines at its anterior end and the pectoral fins are lareg, containing between 12 and 21 fin rays. The small pelvic fins have a single spine and 3 soft rays, although in some taxa these may be vestigial or absent, e.g. in ''Kasatkia''. The head can be completed clothed in scales, there may only be scales on the cheek or it may be naked. The sensory canals on the head are well developed and the lateral line system on the body consists of mid flank and dorsal lines comprising superficial neuromasts. The gill membranes have a wide join and are not attached to the isthmus. The smallest species is the saddled prickleback (''Lumpenopsis clitella'') which has a maximum published standard length of and the largest is ''Pholidapus dybowskii'' which has a maximum published

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

Opisthocentrinae fishes are found in the

North Pacific Ocean North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' i ...

off both Asia and North America. They are found from costal algal beds out to the edge of the continental shelf.Generally, little is known about their biology.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15837657 Stichaeidae Taxa described in 1898 Fish subfamilies Taxa named by David Starr Jordan Taxa named by Barton Warren Evermann