Prionotinae is a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

of demersal, 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 ...

es, part of 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 ...

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 fishes in this subfamily are called sea robins and are found in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans, the other two Triglid subfamilies are called gurnards.

Taxonomy

Prionotinae was first proposed as a subfamily in 1873 by the German naturalist

Johann Jakob Kaup Johann Jakob von Kaup (10 April 1803 – 4 July 1873) was a German naturalist. A proponent of natural philosophy, he believed in an innate mathematical order in nature and he attempted biological classifications based on the Quinarian system. Kaup ...

. It is classified within the family Triglidae, part of the suborder

Platycephaloidei Platycephaloidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes, part of the order Scorpaeniformes, and includes the flatheads, ghost flatheads and sea robins. Taxonomy Platycephaloidei was first recognised and named as a taxonomic grouping in 1943 by th ...

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 ...

. Prionotinae is regarded as the basal grouping within the family Triglidae.

Etymology

The name of the subfamily is derived from what was its only genus at the time of its delineation by Kaup, ''Prionotus''. This 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 specimen ...

'' P. evolans'' but these were probably the result of damage to the specimen. The common names, sea robin, comes from the orange ventral surface of the species in the genus ''

Prionotus ''Prionotus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triglidae, 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 t ...

'', and from large

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 a bird's wings.

Genera

Prionotinae contains the following 2 genera: * '' Bellator'' Jordan & Evermann, 1896 * ''

'' Lacépède, 1801

Characteristics

Prionotinae sea robins are separated from the other Triglid subfamilies by the lateral line not being forked on the caudal peduncle, having 26 vertebrae and the

ligament A ligament is the fibrous connective tissue that connects bones to other bones. It is also known as ''articular ligament'', ''articular larua'', ''fibrous ligament'', or ''true ligament''. Other ligaments in the body include the: * Peritoneal li ...

, called Baudelot’s ligament, has its origin on the skull. The largest species is the lumptail sea robin (''

Prionotus stephanophrys ''Prionotus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triglidae, 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 ...

'') 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 and the smallest is the ''

Bellator ribeiroi Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) * ...

'' at in maximum published total length.

Distribution and habitat

Prionnotinae sea robins are found off the coasts of the Americas in the eastern Pacific and Western Atlantic Oceans, down to depths of . They are demersal fish of sandy bottoms in shallow waters.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q112185037 Triglidae Taxa named by Johann Jakob Kaup Fish subfamilies