The tub gurnard (''Chelidonichthys lucerna''), also known as the sapphirine gurnard, tube-fish, tubfish or yellow gurnard, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

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 sea robins. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is exploited by commercial fisheries as a food fish.

Taxonomy

The tub gurnard was first formally described as ''Trigla lucerna'' in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae with the type locality given as the "Northern Ocean". In the same publication Linnaeus described ''Trigla hirundo'' and in 1896

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 ...

and

Barton Warren Evermann Barton Warren Evermann (October 24, 1853 – September 27, 1932) was an American ichthyologist. Early life and education Evermann was born in Monroe County, Iowa in 1853. His family moved to Indiana while he was still a child and it was ...

designated ''T. hirundo'' as 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 ...

of the

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 ...

Chelidonichthys ''Chelidonichthys'', the smallscaled gurnards, 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 ' ...

'', which had been described by

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 ...

in 1876. ''T. hirundo'' is now treated 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 ''T. lucerna''. The specific name ''lucerna'' is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "lamp" and was given to the superficially similar, but unrelated,

flying gurnard The flying gurnard (''Dactylopterus volitans''), also known as the helmet gurnard, is a bottom-dwelling fish of tropical to warm temperate waters on both sides of the Atlantic. On the American side, it is found as far north as Massachusetts (ex ...

(''Dactylopterus volitans''), a name reaching back at least as far as

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

, who described its fiery red tongue glowing in the night and the name was later used for the tub gurnard or a related species in

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

Description

The tub gurnard has a large, bony, triangular shaped head which bears many ridges and spines but which does not have an occipital groove. There are two spiny lobes on the tip of the snout and the eyes are relatively small. The large mouth is set low on the head and the jaws and vomer are covered by densely set rows of teeth. There are two

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 ...

s, the first contains 8 to 10 spines and the second 16 or 17 soft rays. 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 ...

has between 14 and 16 soft rays. The cleithral spine is short and is located over the

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 ...

and extends just to the first quarter of the

. The pectoral fins, typically for gurnards are large with the innermost three rays free from the membrane, thickened and finger-like, used for locomotion and to detect prey. There are no scales present on the breast and front section of the belly, the body has small, well embedded scales while the scales 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 ...

are small and tubular. 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 se ...

is slightly emarginate. This species reaches 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 , the largest species in the family Triglidae, although is more typical. The heaviest published specimen weighed . The overall colour is deep reddish brown to pinkish red, with a pinkish lower body. The blue pectoral fins are spotted green in the centres and red on the margins.

Distribution and habitat

The tub gurnard is found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean where it occurs from Norway south along the European and African coasts as far south as Ghana. It occurs throughout the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

and in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

too. It is absent from

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

and the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

but is found around the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. This species is found on sand, mud-sand or gravel substrates at depths between . During the summer the tub gurnard may spend more time closer to the surface in water as shallow as and the juveniles can be foun din brackish water in lagoons, estuaries and even the lower reaches of rivers.

Biology

Diet

The tub gurnard is an opportunistic predatory species which feeds on benthic prey, particularly crustaceans and smaller fishes. The largest part of their diet in a study in the northwestern Mediterranean was crustaceans, mostly

Decapoda The Decapoda or decapods (literally "ten-footed") are an order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, including many familiar groups, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp and prawns. Most decapods are scavengers. The order is esti ...

and especially

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

s, with species such as ''

Goneplax rhomboides ''Goneplax rhomboides'' is a species of crab. It is known by the common name angular crab because of its angular carapace. Although it is also called the ''square crab'', its shell is in fact more trapezoidal than square (or rhomboidal, as its sc ...

'' and '' Liocarcinus'' spp. and

caridea The Caridea, commonly known as caridean shrimp or true shrimp, are an infraorder of shrimp within the order Decapoda. This infraorder contains all species of true shrimp. They are found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Many ot ...

n shrimps in the genus '' Philocheras'', while the fish taken were dominated by European anchovy (''Engraulis encrasicolus'') and black goby (''Gobius niger''). Crustaceans were a more important part of the diet in the summer and fishes gained importance during the winter. They are also known to take

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

s and polychaetes. Prey hiding in the substrate may be detected using the sensory organs on the long separate rays of the pectoral fins.

Reproduction

The tub gurnard

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: Ar ...

s between May and July in the northern parts of its range, while it runs from November to February off Egypt. The male and female form a distinct pair to spawn. The eggs are pelagic and in the larvae and post larvae all of the pectoral fin rays are contained within the fin membrane. These fishes start to reach sexual maturity at a total length of and all fish greater than in length are mature.

Vocalisations

Tub gurnards make grunting or growling sounds, using the muscles associated with the

swim bladder The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled Organ (anatomy), organ that contributes to the ability of many bony fish (but not cartilaginous fish) to control their buoyancy, and thus to stay at their curren ...

, these sounds are thought to be used to keep the

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

s together.

Fisheries

The tub gurnard is targeted by commercial fisheres but the amount caught is relatively low, average declared global landings in 2011 to 2015 were 4429 tonnes. Much of this catch is taken in the North Sea (52%) and the eastern English Channel (37%), however, the actual landings are often described as "gurnard" and are not sorted to species on landing. The tub gurnard, with the

red gurnard The red gurnard (''Chelidonichthys cuculus''), also known as the East Atlantic red gurnard or soldier, is a benthic species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family (biology), family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. This fish is found ...

('' Chelidonichthys cuculus'') and the grey gurnard (''Eutrigla gurnardus'') have been recognised as potential commercial species and this has led to recommendations made by the ICES to monitor landings and discards and to get population biology data to be used to assess the stock. However, this data is lacking in all three exploited gurnard species, particularly the tub gurnard.

Gallery

Chelidonichthys lucerna, Triglidae, Scorpaeniformes (Tub gurnard).JPG, On a fish market Ecomare - rode poon jong (rode-poon-jong-8380).jpg, Swimming Chelidonichthys lucerna filetti burrro e salvia.jpg, Frying fillets with butter and

sage Sage or SAGE may refer to: Plants * ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb ** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family ** ''Salvia'', a large ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q630618, from2=Q106430314 tub gurnard Fish of Europe Fish of the Mediterranean Sea Fish of the Black Sea Fauna of the British Isles Marine fauna of North Africa tub gurnard tub gurnard