Lioscorpius
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Scorpaenidae
Subfamily: Setarchinae
Genus: Lioscorpius
Günther, 1880
Type species
Lioscorpius longiceps
Günther, 1880[1]

Lioscorpiusis a genus of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the subfamily Setarchinae, the deep-sea bristly scorpionfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. They are native to the western Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

Lioscorpiusas formally described as a genus in 1880 by the German-born British ichthyologist Albert Günther when he described what was then its only species, L. longiceps, from the Kai Islands in the Banda Sea in Indonesia.[1][2] The genus name Lioscorpius is a compound of lio, meaning "smooth", Gunther described the head of L. longiceps "with scarcely any ridges or spines", and scorpius which means "scorpion", indicating that this is a scorpionfish.[3]

Species

There are currently two recognized species in this genus:[4]

  • Lioscorpius longiceps Günther, 1880 (Slender scorpionfish)
  • Lioscorpius trifasciatus Last, Yearsley & Motomura, 2005 (Tripleband scorpionfish)

Characteristics

Lioscorpius scorpionfishes have a preorbital bone which has a very small first spine. A long projection above the preorbital covers its articulating surface. The rearmost 2-3 spines in the dorsal fin are small and are often embedded in the skin. They have a well developed swimbladded and a large gas gland. They have more slender bodies than related genera within the Setarchinae, the depth being around a quarter of the standard length, they also have a thin space between the eyes.[5] The two species within the genus are distinguished by L. longiceps having 2 spines and 6 soft trays in its anal fin and L. trifasciatus having 3 spines and 5 soft rays in its anal fin.[6]

Distribution and habitat

Lioscorpius scorpionfishes are found in the western Pacific from Japan south to Australia, including Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji.[4][6] They are described as bathydemersal (L. longiceps) or benthopelagic (L. trifasciatus) and are found at depths of between 180 and 410 m (590 and 1,350 ft).[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Setarchidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  2. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Lioscorpius". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  3. ↑ Scharpf, Christopher & Lazara, Kenneth J., eds. (22 May 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 8): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Families Sebastidae, Setarchidae and Neosebastidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2021). Species of Lioscorpius in FishBase. August 2021 version.
  5. ↑ Eschmeyer, William; Collette, Bruce (1966). "The Scorpionfish Subfamily Setarchinae, including the Genus Ectreposebastes". Bulletin of Marine Science. 16 (2): 349–375.
  6. 1 2 Motomura, Hiroyuki; Causse, Romain & Struthers, Carl D. (2016). "First records of the deepwater scorpionfish, Lioscorpius trifasciatus (Setarchidae), from outside Australian waters". Biogeography. 18: 23–28.
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