''Prionotus'' is a
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 ...
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 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 ...
, one of two genera belonging to the
subfamily Prionotinae, the
searobins. These fishes are found in the Western Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific Ocean, in the waters off both North and South America.
Taxonomy
''Prionotus'' was first described as a genus in 1801 by the French
naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède, Lacépède described it 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 "unispe ...
genus with ''
Trigla evolans'',
described by
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
in 1766, 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 specime ...
.The genus is one of 2 genera classified within the subfamily Prionotinae, the searobins, in the gurnard family Triglidae.
[ The genus name is a compound of ''prion'', “saw”, and ''notus'', “back”, as Lacépède saw three free ]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 c ...
spines when he was describing 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 ...
'' P. evolans'' but these were probably the result of damage to the specimen.
Species
There are currently 23 recognized species in this genus:
* '' Prionotus alatus'' Goode & T. H. Bean, 1883 (Spiny searobin)
* '' Prionotus albirostris'' D. S. Jordan & Bollman, 1890 (Whitesnout searobin)
* '' Prionotus beanii'' Goode, 1896 (Bean's searobin)
* '' Prionotus birostratus'' J. Richardson, 1844 (Two-beaked searobin)
* '' Prionotus carolinus'' (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1771) (Northern searobin)
* ''Prionotus evolans
''Prionotus evolans'', the striped searobin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triglidae, the sea robins. This fish is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.
Taxonomy
''Prionotus evolans'' was first formally descri ...
'' (Linnaeus, 1766) (Striped searobin)
* '' Prionotus horrens'' J. Richardson, 1844 (Bristly searobin)
* '' Prionotus longispinosus'' Teague, 1951 (Bigeye searobin)
* '' Prionotus martis'' Ginsburg, 1950 (Gulf of Mexico barred searobin)
* '' Prionotus miles'' Jenyns, 1840 (Galapagos gurnard)
* '' Prionotus murielae'' Mowbray, 1928
* '' Prionotus nudigula'' Ginsburg, 1950 (Red searobin)
* '' Prionotus ophryas'' D. S. Jordan & Swain, 1885 (Bandtail searobin)
* '' Prionotus paralatus'' Ginsburg, 1950 (Mexican searobin)
* '' Prionotus punctatus'' ( Bloch, 1793) (Bluewing searobin)
* '' Prionotus roseus'' D. S. Jordan & Evermann, 1887 (Bluespotted searobin)
* '' Prionotus rubio'' D. S. Jordan, 1886 (Blackwing searobin)
* '' Prionotus ruscarius'' Gilbert & Starks, 1904 (Common searobin)
* '' Prionotus scitulus'' D. S. Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 (Leopard searobin)
* '' Prionotus stearnsi'' D. S. Jordan & Swain, 1885 (Shortwing searobin)
* '' Prionotus stephanophrys'' Lockington, 1881 (Lumptail searobin)
* '' Prionotus teaguei'' Briggs, 1956 (Long-ray searobin)
* '' Prionotus tribulus'' G. Cuvier, 1829 (Bighead searobin)
''P. murielae'' is based on a single holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of sever ...
and in 2020 it was proposed that this was a juvenile of ''P. ophyras'', and this taxon is treated as a junior synonym of ''P. ophryas''.
Characteristics
Prionotus searobins have a large, nearly square head, Bonny head which bears a number of spines and ridges with a wide inter orbital space. The mouth is either terminal or slightly inferior with simple teeth on the jaws and on the roof of the mouth. There are 2 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 with normally 10, sometimes 9 or 11, spines, although the very short rear spines are very difficult to discern. The second dorsal fin has 11 to 13 soft rays. The long pectoral fins extend beyond the middle of the base of the anal fin and contains, 13-14 rays within its membrane and 2-3 enlarged, rays at the bottom of the fin that are free from its membrane. Most of the body is covered in rough scales including the upper rear flap of the operculum over the spine with scales and the nape. The largest species is the common sea robin (''P. ruscarius'') of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, 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 , while the smallest is ''P. murielae'' with a maximum published total length of .[
]
Distribution and habitat
''Prionotus'' sea robins are found in the tropical and temperate waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean off both North and South America.[ These benthic fishes occur in inshore waters, bays, and estuaries.] Fossils of ''Prionotus'' have been found in England and along the Atlantic Cast of the United States from Florida to New Jersey.
Biology
''Prionotus'' are able to create grunting vocalisations by vibrating the swim bladder with certain muscles, this sounds like the croaking of a frog and has is the origin of the alternative common name of gurnard, derived from a French word meaning, “to grunt”. These fishes are less active in the daylight hours and are mostly nocturnal, using their enlarged separate pectoral fin rays to walk along the substrate and detect prey buries in the sand or mud. These rays can 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 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. Their sharp spines seem to deter most predators but they are preyed on by some sharks.[
When they are mating they are known to make a staccato call, different from their typical grunts. They ]spawn
Spawn or spawning may refer to:
* Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise
** '' Spawn: ...
between late spring and early fall, with activity peaking in July and August. They are batch spawners, the females have a few ripe eggs at a time and these are fertilized externally. The pelagic eggs are yellow, and have a diameter of less than 1 millimeter. They take around 60 hours to hatch and there is no parental care. The hatchling larvae are between in length. The walking rays develop when the larvae reach a length of and they attain sexual maturity around 2 or 3 years old, and may live for up to 11 years, though they usually they only live around 8 years.[
]
See also
* List of prehistoric bony fish
* 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 ...
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2703368
Prionotinae
Marine fish genera
Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède