Plagiogeneion i is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Emmelichthyidae, the rovers, bonnetmouths or rubyfishes. The fishes in this genus are found in the southeastern Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.
| Plagiogeneion | |
|---|---|
| |
| Rubyfish (Plagiogeneion rubiginosum) from the Sydney Fish Market. | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Acanthuriformes |
| Family: | Emmelichthyidae |
| Genus: | Plagiogeneion H. O. Forbes, 1890 |
| Type species | |
| Therapon rubiginosus F. W. Hutton, 1875[1]
| |
Taxonomy
editPlagiogeneion was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1890 by the Scottish explorer, ornithologist, and botanist Henry Ogg Forbes with Therapon rubiginosus, which had been described in 1875 by Frederick W. Hutton from New Zealand,[2] as its only species.[1] The genus is classified in the small family Emmelichthyidae which is included in the order Acanthuriformes.[3]
Etymology
editPlagiogeneion is a compound of plagios, meaning "perpendicular", and geneion, which means "jawed", an allusion to the almost vertical mouth of the type species, P. rubiginosum.[4]
Species
editThere are currently five recognized species in this genus:[5]
- Plagiogeneion fiolenti Parin, 1991
- Plagiogeneion geminatum Parin, 1991
- Plagiogeneion macrolepis McCulloch, 1914 – bigscale rubyfish
- Plagiogeneion rubiginosum (F. W. Hutton, 1875) – rubyfish
- Plagiogeneion unispina Parin, 1991
Characteristics
editPlagiogeneion rubyfishes have a body which has a standard length of 2.8 to 3.6 times its depth. They have a continuous dorsal fin which is only slightluy incised at the front of the soft-rayed portion of the fin. The final spines of both the dorsal and anal fins are not longer than the penultimate spines. They lack a fleshy ridge on the side of the caudal peduncle and do not have a groove or fleshy protuberance on rear margin of the gill cavity. The upper spine on operculum is an obtuse flat point or developed as an acute spine. They have a small number of small sharp teeth at the front of the jaws and they may have similar teeth on the vomer and palatines.[6] The rubyfish (P. rubiginosum) is the largest species, attaining a maximum published total length of 60 cm (24 in), while the smallest is P. unispina at a maximum published standard length of 23.9 cm (9.4 in).[5]
References
edit
- ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Emmelichthyidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Plagiogeneion". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 497–502. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (9 March 2023). "Series Eupercaria (Incertae sedis): Families Callanthidae, Centrogenyidae, Dinopercidae, Emmelichthyidae, Malacanthidae, Monodactylidae, Moronidae, Parascorpididae, Sciaenidae and Sillagidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Plagiogeneion". FishBase. April 2013 version.
- ^ Philip C. Heemstra (2022). "Family Emmelichthyidae, Rovers". In P.C. Heemstra; et al. (eds.). Coastal fishes of the western Indian Ocean. Volume 4 (PDF). South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. pp. 25–28. ISBN 978-1-990951-31-2.