Triglinae is a subfamily 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 h ...

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 gurnards and searobins. These gurnards are found in all the tropical and temperate oceans of the world except for the Western Atlantic Ocean.

Taxonomy

Triglinae was named in 1815 by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque and is one of 3 subfamilies in 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 the ...

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 ...

. This subfamily is regarded as most derived of the 3 subfamiles in Triglidae, with

Prionotinae Prionotinae is a subfamily of demersal, marine ray-finned fishes, part of the family Triglidae. 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 ...

being the basal and

Pterygotriglinae Pterygotriglinae is a subfamily of demersal, marine ray-finned fishes, part of the family Triglidae, the gurnards and searobins. These gurnards are found in the Indo-Pacific region. Taxonomy Pterygotriglinae was first proposed as a taxonomic group ...

being less derived than Triglinae.

Etymology

Triglinae, like the family name, is based on that of Linneaus's genus ''Trigla'', the name of which is a classical name for the red mullet (''

Mullus barbatus ''Mullus barbatus'' (red mullet) is a species of goatfish found in the Mediterranean Sea, Sea of Marmara, the Black Sea and the eastern North Atlantic Ocean, where its range extends from Scandinavia to Senegal. They are fished, mostly by trawlin ...

''), Artedi thought the red mullet and the gurnards were the same as fishes from both taxa are known to create sounds taken out of the water as well as being red in colour. Linnaeus realised they were different and classified ''Trigla'' as a gurnard, in contradiction of the ancient usage. Their common name, gurnard, was given to them because when caught, they make a croaking noise similar to a frog, which has given them the onomatopoeic name gurnard.

Genera

The following 4 genera are classified within the subfamily Triglinae. * '' Chelidonichthys'' Kaup, 1873 * ''

Eutrigla The grey gurnard (''Eutrigla gurnardus'') is a species of ray-finned fish from the family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea. It is caught as a food fish a ...

'' Fraser-Brunner, 1938 * ''

Lepidotrigla ''Lepidotrigla'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. These gurnards are found in the Eastern Atlantic, Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. Taxonomy ''Lepidotrigla'' was first desc ...

'' Günther, 1860 * '' Trigla''

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, 1758

Characteristics

Triglinae gurnards have all the tips of the lower

pterygiophore 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 ...

s widened and exposed at the bases of both the first and 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 c ...

s, There is no basihyal and the lateral line forks into two on the

caudal 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 ...

. They have a vertebral count of between 29 and 35. The largest species is the tub gurnard (''Chelidonichthys lucerna'') 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 while the smallest is the spotwing gurnard (''Lepidotrigla spiloptera'') which has a maximum published total length of .

Distribution

Triglinae gurnards are widely distributed in the temperate and tropical seas around the world, although they are absent from the Western Atlantic Ocean.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q61882851 Triglidae Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Fish subfamilies