The northern ronquil (Ronquilus jordani) is species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Bathymasteridae, the ronquils. This species is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. This species is the only known member of its genus.
| Northern ronquil | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Bathymasteridae |
| Genus: | Ronquilus D. S. Jordan & Starks, 1895 |
| Species: | R. jordani
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| Binomial name | |
| Ronquilus jordani (C. H. Gilbert, 1889)
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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Taxonomy
editThe stripedfin ronquil was first formally described as Bathymaster jordani in 1889 by the American ichthyologist Charles Henry Gilbert with the type locality given as Puget Sound in Washington.[2] When David Starr Jordan and Edwin Chapin Starks proposed the monotypic genus Ronquilus they designated this species as its type species.[3] The genus is classified in the family Bathymasteridae which is in the Scorpaeniform suborder Zoarcoidei.[4]
Etymology
editThe genus name is an anglicization from the Spanish word ronco, ronquillo being a diminutive, and which means “one who grunts”, although Jordan and Starks did not mention croaking. The specific name jordani honors David Starr Jordan who, with Gilbert, first identified this species in Puget Sound.[5]
Description
editThe northern ronquil is a small, cylindrical ichthyoplankton with brown to gray head, and two yellow bands on cheek. The body is gray with dark spots near pale or pale-yellow fins. This species can be distinguished from other members of the Bathymaster family by its cheek scales and the absence of some features in the cephalic lateralis system.[6] This species has a maximum published total length of 20 cm (7.9 in).[1]
Distribution and habitat
editThe northern ronquil is found in the northern Pacific Ocean from the eastern Aleutian Islands at Unimak Pass south to southern California, although it seems to be rare off California. Reports from elsewhere in the northern Pacific require to be verified.[6] The adults are primarily benthic (bottom-dwelling) along rocky continental shelf and upper slope waters of the north-eastern Pacific Ocean. However, larvae and juveniles are considered neustonic, and occupy waters closer to the surface. This is thought to be beneficial due to increased growth in the warmer surface water and reduced predation at shallower depth.[7] The life cycle and habitat preference of the Northern ronquil is subject to ongoing research.
References
edit- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Ronquilus jordani". FishBase. February 2022 version.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Ronquilus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Bathymasteridae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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 28 July 2022.
- ^ a b Stevenson, Duane; Ann C. Matarese (2005). "The ronquils: a review of the North Pacific fish family Bathymasteridae (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Zoarcoidei)". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 118 (2): 367–406. doi:10.2988/0006-324X(2005)118[367:TRAROT]2.0.CO;2.
- ^ Doyle, Miriam (1992). "NEUSTONIC ICHTHYOPLANKTON IN THE NORTHERN REGION OF THE CALIFORNIA CURRENT ECOSYSTEM". California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations. 33: 141–161.