''Plectrogenium'', 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 ...

es, the stinger flatheads, the only genus classified within the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Plectrogeninae, which in turn is classified within 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 ...

Scorpaenidae The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As their name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venom ...

. This genus is found in the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

Pacific 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 ...

Oceans.

Taxonomy

''Plectrogenium'' was originally named as a

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 in 1905 by the American

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 ...

Charles Henry Gilbert Charles Henry Gilbert (December 5, 1859 in Rockford, Illinois – April 20, 1928 in Palo Alto, California) was a pioneer ichthyologist and Fisheries science, fishery biologist of particular significance to natural history of the western Unit ...

when he described what was then considered to be its only species, ''Plectrogenium nanum'', from Hawaii. ''Plectrogenium'' is the only genus in the monotypic subfamily Plectrogeninae which is classified within the family Scorpaenidae in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

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 ...

by some authorities. Other authorities treat this taxon as part of a separate family Plectrogenidae, alongside the genus '' Bembradium'', and place this family in the

perciform Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order (biology), order or superorder of Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of a ...

suborder 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 ...

Platycephaloidei. The genus name, ''Plectrogenium'', is a compound of ''plectro'', which means “spur”, and ''genys'', which means “cheek”or “chin”, an allusion to the lines of robust spines along the sides of the head.

Species

The currently recognized species in this genus are: * '' Plectrogenium barsukovi''

Mandritsa Mandritsa ( bg, Мандрица, "Small dairy"; ) is a village in southernmost Bulgaria, part of Ivaylovgrad municipality, Haskovo Province. It is known as the only Albanian village in Bulgaria. As of 14 December 2006, Mandritsa has a population ...

, 1992 * '' Plectrogenium capricornis'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021 * '' Plectrogenium kamoharai'' Uesaka, Yamakawa, Matsunuma & Endo, 2021 * '' Plectrogenium kanayamai'' Uesaka, Yamakawa, Matsunuma & Endo, 2021 * '' Plectrogenium longipinnis'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021 * '' Plectrogenium megalops'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021 * '' Plectrogenium nanum'' C. H. Gilbert, 1905 * '' Plectrogenium occidentalise'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021 * '' Plectrogenium rubricauda'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021 * '' Plectrogenium serratum'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021

Characteristics

''Plectrogenium'' is characterised by having a laterally compressed body with a number of spines and ridges on the head. There are venom glands on the spines in the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

anal Anal may refer to: Related to the anus *Related to the anus of animals: ** Anal fin, in fish anatomy ** Anal vein, in insect anatomy ** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy *Related to the human anus: ** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involvin ...

and

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s. The dorsal fin typically has 12 spines and 7¹/₂ soft rays, the dorsal fin is split into 2 fins with 2 spines in the anterior part of the second dorsal fin. There are between 22 and 25 rays in the

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 and they have 30-35 vertical rows of

ctenoid scale A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as we ...

s on the body. There are flattened spines on the suborbital ridge which resembles that of the

Platycephalidae The Platycephalidae are a family of marine fish, most commonly referred to as flatheads. They are relatives of the popular lionfish, belonging to the order Scorpaeniformes. Taxonomy Platycephalidae was first proposed as a family in 1839 by the E ...

. The mouth is positioned ventrally. They are small fishes with standard lengths of less than

Distribution and habitat

''Plectrogenium'' is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans from Madagascar to Hawaii. They are

bathydemersal Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 They occ ...

fishes which are found at depths greater then .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2325680 Scorpaenidae Marine fish genera Taxa named by Charles Henry Gilbert