The red velvetfish (''Gnathanacanthus goetzeei'') 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 ...
, it is the only species in the
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 ...
''Gnathanacanthus'' and monogeneric
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 ...
Gnathanacanthidae. This species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to the inshore waters of western and southern
Australia.
Taxonomy
The red velvetfish was first formally
described in 1855 by the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
,
herpetologist
Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians ( gymnophiona)) and rep ...
and
ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker
Pieter Bleeker (10 July 1819 – 24 January 1878) was a Dutch medical doctor, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He was famous for the ''Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises'', his monumental work on the fishes of East Asia ...
with the
type locality given as the
Derwent River near
Hobart in
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
.
Bleeker classified this new species in the monotypic genus ''Gnathanacanthus''.
and in 1893
Theodore Gill
Theodore Nicholas Gill (March 21, 1837 – September 25, 1914) was an American ichthyologist, mammalogist, malacologist and librarian.
Career
Born and educated in New York City under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural histo ...
classified that genus within the monogeneric family Gnathanacanthidae,
The 5th edition of ''
Fishes of the World'' classifies the family within the
suborder Scorpaenoidei
Scorpaenoidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes, part of the order Scorpaeniformes, that includes the scorpionfishes, lionfishes and velvetfishes. This suborder is at its most diverse in the Pacific and Indian Oceans but is also found in the A ...
which in turn is classified within the
order 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 ...
.
Other authorities place the Scorpaenoidei within 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 ...
.
A recent study placed the genus ''Gnathanacanthus'' into an expanded stonefish clade, the
Synanceiidae, because all of these fish have a lachrymal sabre that can project a switch-blade-like mechanism out from underneath their eye.
The name of the genus and family combine ''gnathus'', meaning, “jaw”,''ana'', meaning “not” and ''acanthus'', meaning “thorn” or “spine”, thought to refer to the lack of spines on the head, particularly in comparison to the
Scorpaenid ''
Taenianotus'' which was thought to be a close relative when Bleeker described this taxon. The
specific name honours J. W. Goetzee who sent Bleeker
specimens of fishes from Hobart, including the
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 ...
of this species.
Description
The red velvetfish has a highly compressed body that lacks scales but has a covering of papillae which give the skin the a texture like velvet.
The fins are large and rounded, 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 ...
is divided into two with the spines in the first dorsal fin bearing venom. The dorsal fins contain 12 or 13 spines and 9 or 10 soft rays while the
anal fin has 3 spines and between 8 and 10 soft rays. The pelvic fins sit beneath the pectoral fins. They have reached a maximum length of . They are typically red yellow or orange with some mottling while the juveniles are translucent with red stripes, spots and ocelli.
Distribution and habitat
The red velvetfish is endemic to temperate seas off southern Australia It ius found from in the vicinity of
Lake Tyers in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
west to
Point Moore, near
Geraldton, Western Australia
Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth.
At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...
, it also occurs off the northern and eastern coasts of
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
and around the islands in the
Bass Strait. They are found within
kelp
Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms.
Kelp grows in "underwa ...
and other
seaweeds
Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...
on protected rock reefs, frequently living deep within caves and crevices at depths down to .
[
]
Biology
Red velvetfish sway back and forth with the swell in a similar manner to the kelp fronds they live among, enhancing their camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...
and making the difficult to detect.[ The predominantly red colour is dull in the absence of red light at the depths these fishes live in, further enhancing their camouflage.][ ]ambush predator
Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture or trap prey via stealth, luring or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey ...
s feeding largely on crustacean
Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...
s and cephalopods, as well as smaller fishes.[ In humans invenomation by the red velvetfish is documented as causin excruciating pain with a duration of many hours.][
]
Cultural depiction
The red velvetfish has been depicted on an Australian postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...
of 1985.
References
*
External links
FishBase info for Gnathanacanthidae
Photo of red velvetfish at Discovery Bay Marine National Park
Fishes of Australia : ''Gnathanacanthus goetzeei''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1568972
Scorpaenoidei
Venomous fish
Marine fish of Southern Australia
red velvetfish
Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker