''Prionotus evolans'', the striped searobin, 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

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 ...

belonging to the

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 ...

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

sea robin Prionotinae is a subfamily of demersal, marine ray-finned fishes, part of the family Triglidae. The fishes in this subfamily are called sea robins and are found in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans, the other two Triglid subfamilies ...

s. This fish is found in the western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Taxonomy

''Prionotus evolans'' was first formally described in 1766 by the Swedish scientist

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...

as ''Trigla evolans'' with the type locality given as

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

and Jamaica. When Bernard Germain de Lacépède described the then

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 ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' Prionotus'', its only species was Linnaeus's ''T. evolans'' which he also designated as the

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 specime ...

of the genus. The specific name ''evolans'' means "flying away", an allusion to the long

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 which resemble wings.

Description

''Prionotus evolans'' has a large and deep head with no cirrhi at the nostrils or over the eyes, the nostrils also lack any spines near them,. The mouth is large, extending as far as the anterior margin of the eye and is slightly inferior with the lower jaw not protruding. The spine on the preoperculum does not extend beyond the operculum. There are two separate

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, the first has 10 spines and the second has 12 soft rays. The anal fin contains 10 soft rays. The

has a rounded posterior margin and has 13-14 rays within its membrane and the fin extends almost as far as the rear of the base of the anal fin. There are 3 enlarged rays at the bottom of fin which are free of the fin membrane. The body is covered in scales. The 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 the striped searobin is , alth ough is more typical, and the maximum published weight is . The overall color is reddish to olive brown with a thin dark stripe along the lateral line, another one runs parallel to that on the lower body. The whole of the pectoral fin is marked with closely-set, sinuous dark vertical lines with the inner part of the fin forming a dark patch. There is a dark blotch on the first dorsal fin between the fourth and fifth spines.

Distribution and habitat

''Prionotus evolans'' is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean where it is found from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

in the north south along the Atlantic coast of the United States to southeastern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, it is also found around

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

, striped searobins are rare north of

Cape Cod, Massachusetts Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

. It is found at depths between , typically , inhabiting sandy substrates from estuaries to offshore depths, infrequently being found associated with reefs.

Biology

''Prionotus evolans'' uses the free pectoral fin rays to manipulate objects and detect prey using

chemoreception A chemoreceptor, also known as chemosensor, is a specialized sensory receptor which transduces a chemical substance (endogenous or induced) to generate a biological signal. This signal may be in the form of an action potential, if the chemorecept ...

, The bony, square head of searobins can be used to excavate small prey items from the substrate and their rather catholic diet includes crustaceans, cephalopods, gastropods, bivalves, amphipods, eggs, other fish and seaweed, juveniles eat more copepods.

Uses

The striped searobin has minor commercial uses and is a

game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commercial ...

. It is also occasionally used as bait.

References

"The Inland Fishes of New York State." C. Lavett Smith. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2489380 Fish described in 1766 evolans Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus