Opisthocentrinae
Opisthocentrus ocellatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Stichaeidae
Subfamily: Opisthocentrinae
Jordan & Evermann, 1898[1]
Genera

See text

Opisthocentrinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes, classified within the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies. These fishes are found in the North Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

Opisthocentrinae was first put forward as a subfamily in 1898 by the American ichthyologists David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann.[1] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World places this subfamily in the family Stichaeidae[2] but other authorities treat this taxon as valid family within the suborder Zoarcoidei, either in the Scorpaeniformes,[1] or the Perciformes.[3] The name of the subfamily is taken from its type genus Opisthocentrus which is a combination of opistho, meaning "behind", and kentron, which means "thorn" or "spine", an allusion to the spines on the 11th and 12th rays in the dorsal fin of O. ocellatus.[4]

Etymology

Opisthocentrus is a combination of opistho, meaning "behind", and kentron, which means "thorn" or "spine", an allusion to the spines on the 11th and 12th rays in the dorsal fin of O. ocellatus.[4]

Genera

The subfamily contains the following genera:[5]

Characteristics

Opisthocentrinae fishes are characterised by having elongate bodies which are relatively deep. They do not have any appendages in the skin of the head. The anal fin has with 1 or 2 spines at its anterior end and the pectoral fins are lareg, containing between 12 and 21 fin rays. The small pelvic fins have a single spine and 3 soft rays, although in some taxa these may be vestigial or absent, e.g. in Kasatkia. The head can be completed clothed in scales, there may only be scales on the cheek or it may be naked. The sensory canals on the head are well developed and the lateral line system on the body consists of mid flank and dorsal lines comprising superficial neuromasts. The gill membranes have a wide join and are not attached to the isthmus.[5] The smallest species is the saddled prickleback (Lumpenopsis clitella) which has a maximum published standard length of 5.6 cm (2.2 in) and the largest is Pholidapus dybowskii which has a maximum published total length of 46 cm (18 in).[6]

Distribution and habitat

Opisthocentrinae fishes are found in the North Pacific Ocean off both Asia and North America.[7] They are found from costal algal beds out to the edge of the continental shelf.Generally, little is known about their biology.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of Recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 001–230. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1. PMID 25543675.
  2. ↑ J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 478–482. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6.
  3. ↑ "GENERA/SPECIES BY FAMILY/SUBFAMILY IN Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  4. 1 2 Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (4 July 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 11): Suborder Cottoidea: Infraorder Zoarcales: Families: Anarhichadidae, Neozoarcidae, Eulophias, Stichaeidae, Lumpenidae, Ophistocentridae, Pholidae, Ptilichthyidae, Zaproridae, Cryptacanthodidae, Cebidichthyidae, Scytalinidae and Bathymasteridae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Mecklenburg, C. W. and B. A. Sheiko (2004). "Family Stichaeidae Gill 1864 — pricklebacks" (PDF). California Academy of Sciences Annotated Checklists of Fishes. 35.
  6. ↑ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2022). "Opisthocentridae" in FishBase. June 2022 version.
  7. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Opisthocentridae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
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