''Scalicus'' 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 ...

belonging to 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 ...

Peristediidae Peristediidae, the armored sea robins or armoured gurnards, is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the suborder Platycephaloidei in the order Scorpaeniformes. They are found in the deep water in the tropical and warm temperate of the wor ...

, the armoured gurnards or armored searobins. These fishes are found in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region.

Taxonomy

''Scalicus'' was first described 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 1923 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 ...

David Starr Jordan David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Univer ...

with the newly described ''Peristedion amiscus'', designated 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 specimen ...

. Within the family Peristediidae there are 2 clades, this genus is in the

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

consisting of 5 genera, with the nominate genus ''

Peristedion ''Peristedion'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Peristediidae, the armoured gurnards or armored sea robins. These fishes are found in Atlantic and Indo-West Pacific ocean waters. Taxonomy Peristedion was first des ...

'' in the other clade. Jordan did not explain the genus name's etymology but it may be from ''skallo'' meaning "

hoe Hoe or HOE may refer to: * Hoe (food), a Korean dish of raw fish * Hoe (letter), a Georgian letter * Hoe (tool), a hand tool used in gardening and farming ** Hoe-farming, a term for primitive forms of agriculture * Backhoe, a piece of excavati ...

", an allusion top the shovel shaped snout of the type species.

Species

''Scalicus'' currently has 8 recognised species within it: * '' Scalicus amiscus'' D. S. Jordan & Starks, 1904 * '' Scalicus engyceros'' Günther, 1872 * '' Scalicus gilberti'' D. S. Jordan, 1921 * '' Scalicus hians'' C. H. Gilbert &

Cramer Cramer may refer to: Businesses * Cramer brothers, 18th century publishers * Cramer Systems, a software company * Cramer & Co., a former musical-related business in London Other uses * Cramer (surname), including a list of people and fictional ...

, 1897 * '' Scalicus investigatoris'' Alcock, 1898 * '' Scalicus orientalis'' Fowler, 1938 * '' Scalicus paucibarbatus'' Kawai, 2019 * '' Scalicus quadratorostratus'' Fourmanoir & Rivaton, 1979 * '' Scalicus serrulatus'' Alcock, 1898 Some authorities recognise 6 valid species, treating ''S. amiscus'' as a

junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

of ''S. hains'' and both ''S. gilberti'' and ''S, investigatoris'' as a junior synonyms of ''S. engyceros''.

Characteristics

''Scalicus'' armoured gurnards have no teeth in the upper jaw, a smooth lateral margin of the head. The rear pairs of the lower lateral rows of scutes are not joined to each other, The lower jaw has barbels which are not branched, apart from the rearmost barbels on the lip and chin. The number of soft rays in the second

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 conv ...

and the

anal 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 se ...

both exceed 19. The smallest of these fishes is ''S. quadratorostratus'' which has a maximum published

standard 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 m ...

of while the largest is ''S. engyceros'' 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

''Scalicus'' armoured gurnards are demersal, deep water fishes which are found in the Indian Ocean from the eastern costa of Africa to Hawaii.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18595688 Peristediidae Taxa named by David Starr Jordan