''Scalicus orientalis'' is a species 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 sea robins. This species is found in Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

''Scalicus orientalis'' was first formally desceribed as ''Nemaperistedion orientale'' in 1938 by the American zoologist Henry Weed Fowler with its type locality give as off Makian Island, between Gillolo and Makian Islands in Indonesia. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''orientalis'' means "eastern".

Description

''Scalicus orientalis'' is pale pinkish-brown in colour becoming paler on the lower body with a scattering of variably sized but small brown spots on the head and body. The front portion of the first dorsal fin is blackish, as are the two large filamentous barbels on the lower jaw, and the long, triangular rostral projections. This species has a maximum

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 .

Distribution and habitat

''Scalicus orientalis'' is found in theIndo-Pacific from

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

and the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

east to

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, north to Japan and south to northern Australia. In Australia it is found from the southwest of the Scott and Seringapatam Reefs and from Innisfall to Coolangatta in Queensland. This is a

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 ...

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

species found at depths between on the continental slope.

References

orientalis Fish described in 1938 {{Scorpaeniformes-stub