The South Australian cobbler (''Gymnapistes marmoratus''), better known as the soldier but also known as the cobbler, devilfish or soldierfish, 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 ...

, a waspfish, belonging to the

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 ...

Tetraroginae Tetraroginae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes, commonly known as waspfishes or sailback scorpionfishes, belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are native to the Indian Ocean and the W ...

which is classified within 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 ...

Scorpaenidae The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As their name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venom ...

, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. It 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 elsew ...

to southern Australia. 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 "unispec ...

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 ...

''Gymnapistes''.

Taxonomy

The South Australian cobbler was first formally described in 1829 as ''Apistus marmoratus'' by the French

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier ...

with the type locality given as "

Timor Island Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, also ...

, southern

Malay Archipelago The Malay Archipelago (Indonesian/Malay: , tgl, Kapuluang Malay) is the archipelago between mainland Indochina and Australia. It has also been called the " Malay world," "Nusantara", "East Indies", Indo-Australian Archipelago, Spices Archipe ...

", although this is likely to be an error and the actual locality is in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. In 1839 the English zoologist William John Swainson placed it in the new genus ''Gymnapistes'', as its only species. This taxon is included in the subfamily Tetraroginae within the Scorpaenidae in the 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the ...

'' however other authorities place that subfamily within the stonefish family

Synanceiidae Synanceiinae is a subfamily of venomous ray-finned fishes, waspfishes, which is classified as part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific oceans. They are primarily marin ...

, while other authorities classify this subfamily as a family in its own right. The genus name is a compound of ''gymnos'' which means "bare" or "naked" with ''Apistes'', this was originally proposed as a subgenus of ''

Apistus ''Apistus'' is a monotypic genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Apistinae, the wasp scorpionfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. Its only species is the ''Apistus carinatus'' w ...

'' and the first part alludes to the mostly scaleless body of this taxon. The specific name ''marmoratus'' means "marbled" as in alcohol this fish has a marbled appearance.

Description

The South Australian cobbler has a long based

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 ...

which has 12 or 13 spines, each separated by an incision in the membrane between them, and between 7 and 10 soft rays, the spiny and soft-rayed parts are separated by an incision, with 3 spines and 4 to 6 soft rays in its

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 ...

. It eye does not bulge above the dorsal profile of the head, the intraorbital space is slightly concave and there are several obvious spines on the head. The lacrimal bone is mobile and has a sizeable, curved, erectile spine to its posterior and a smaller anterior spine. The only scales are on the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

. This fish has a mottled pattern made up of brown to dark brown blotches on the upper body fading to pale ventrally. These blotches are less obvious in the larger fish. There is an obvious dark blotch on the dorsal fin between the 4th and 7th spines. There is a dark, oblong spot near the base on the pectoral fin while the other fins often have vermiculations or vague spotting. This species attains a maximum

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

The South Australian cobbler is endemic to the temperate southern coasts of Australia. Its distribution extends from the central coast of New South Wales to Perth, Western Australia. It is found in shallow inshore waters and estuaries at depths between in beds of seagrass.

Biology

The South Australian cobbler is a nocturnal

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 us ...

, with the smaller fish feeding mainly on shrimp and small crabs and the larger fish being more

piscivorous A piscivore () is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. The name ''piscivore'' is derived . Piscivore is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophage, both of which mean "fish eater". Fish were the diet of early tetrapod evoluti ...

. It stays motionless during the day. These fishes attain sexual maturity at 2 to 4 years old. The adults leave the seagrass beds in the late winter and early spring, congregating in deeper water in very large aggregations, thought to be

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquati ...

aggregations. It is s slow growing species and large individuals are much older, often in excess of 210 years of age. in comparison to other species at the same size. They can live for more than 14 years. The adults gave venom-bearing spines on the infraorbital bone, preopercular bone and in the dorsal, anal and pectoral fins.

Utilisation

The South Australian cobbler is taken as

bycatch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...

in both commercial and recreational fisheries.

Venom

The South Australian cobbler is well defended with venomous spines on the head and in the fins. People who have been envenomated by this fish rarely die, symptoms of envenomation include severe pain around the envenomated area of the body, swelling, nausea, perspiration, paralysis of the limbs and fainting. In worst cases the venom may interfere with the functioning of

cardiovascular system The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

References

External links

FishBase entry for ''Gymnapistes marmoratus''
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2157138

South Australian cobbler The South Australian cobbler (''Gymnapistes marmoratus''), better known as the soldier but also known as the cobbler, devilfish or soldierfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a waspfish, belonging to the subfamily Tetraroginae which is c ...

Venomous fish Marine fish of Southern Australia

Taxa named by Georges Cuvier