Pseudopataecus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Aploactinidae
Genus: Pseudopataecus
J. W. Johnson, 2004
Type species
Pseudopataecus taenianotus
J.W. Johnson, 2004

Pseudopataecus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, velvetfishes belonging to the family Aploactinidae. This genus is endemic to the waters around Australia.

Taxonomy

Pseudopataecus was first described as a genus in 2004 by the Australian ichthyologist J. W. Johnson when he described the new species Pseudopataecus taenianotus from near Lady Musgrave Island in Queensland. Johnson designated this species as the type species of Pseudopataecus, as well as being the type by monotypy.[1][2] This genus is classified within the family Aploactinidae in the suborder Scorpaenoidei within the order Scorpaeniformes,[3] although this family is also treated as a subfamily of the stonefish family Synanceiidae[4][5] within the Scorpaenoidei, which in turn is treated as a superfamily within the order Perciformes.[6] The name of the genus, Pseudopataecus prefixed the genus Pataecus with pseudo, meaning "false", referring to the resemblance of this genus to the otherwise distantly related Pataecus.[7]

Species

There are currently two recognized species in this genus:[8][9]

  • Pseudopataecus carnatobarbatus J. W. Johnson, 2012 (Goatee velvetfish)[9]
  • Pseudopataecus taenianotus J. W. Johnson, 2004 (Longfin velvetfish)

Characteristics

Pseudopataecus velvetfishes are characterised by having the head and body being highly compressed with a high number of rays on the dorsal and anal fins. There are ridges on the front of the skull which are curved towards the sides to create a shallow fleshy pit. The first spine in the dorsal fin is located quite far forward on the head, in front of the level of the eye.[10] They are small fishes with the maximum standard lengths being 9.7 cm (3.8 in) in P. carnatobarbatus and 10.4 cm (4.1 in) in P. taenianotus.[8]

Distribution and habitat

Pseudopataecus velvetfishes are found in the eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.[8] P. carnatobarbus is found in the inter-tidal zone, sheltering in tidal pools among topographical features and vegetation at low tide.[11] while 'P. taenianotus is found on trawl grounds from soft substrates with encrusting benthic invertebrates.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Aploactininae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  2. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Pseudopataecus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  3. ↑ J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 468–475. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6.
  4. ↑ Smith, W. Leo; Smith, Elizabeth; Richardson, Clara (February 2018). "Phylogeny and Taxonomy of Flatheads, Scorpionfishes, Sea Robins, and Stonefishes (Percomorpha: Scorpaeniformes) and the Evolution of the Lachrymal Saber". Copeia. 106 (1): 94–119. doi:10.1643/CG-17-669. S2CID 91157582.
  5. ↑ Willingham, AJ (13 April 2018). "Stonefish are already scary, and now scientists have found they have switchblades in their heads". CNN.
  6. ↑ Ricardo Betancur-R; Edward O. Wiley; Gloria Arratia; et al. (2017). "Phylogenetic classification of bony fishes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17 (162): 162. doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0958-3. PMC 5501477. PMID 28683774.
  7. ↑ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (10 March 2022). "Order Perciformes (Part 10): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Families Apistidae, Tetrarogidae, Synanceiidae, Aploacrinidae, Perryenidae, Eschmeyeridae, Pataecidae, Gnathanacanthidae, Congiopodidae and Zanclorhynchidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2022). Species of Pseudopataecus in FishBase. February 2022 version.
  9. 1 2 Johnson, J.W. (2012): Pseudopataecus carnatobarbatus, a new species of velvetfish (Teleostei: Scorpaeniformes: Aploactinidae) from the Kimberley coast of Western Australia. Zootaxa, 3245: 54–62.
  10. ↑ Bray, D.J. (2020). "Pseudopataecus". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  11. ↑ Bray, D.J. (2020). "Pseudopataecus carnatobarbatus". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  12. ↑ Bray, D.J. (2020). "Pseudopataecus taenianotus". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
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