Pogonoscorpius is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is a monotypic genus, its ony species is Pogonoscorpius sechellensis which occurs in the western Indian Ocean in the seas around the Seychelles. It is a little known species and, as of 2018, only 2 specimens were known from the Seychelles. It may also occur in the Coral Sea and off Japan and it has been suggested that this taxon is a synonym of Rhinopias argoliba.[1] Others treat it as a valid species and state that it is endemic to the western Indian Ocean.[2]
| Pogonoscorpius | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Scorpaenidae |
| Subfamily: | Scorpaeninae |
| Tribe: | Scorpaenini |
| Genus: | Pogonoscorpius Regan, 1908 |
| Species: | P. sechellensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Pogonoscorpius sechellensis Regan, 1908
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Pgonoscorpius was first formally described as a genus in 1908 by the British ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan when he described its only species P. sechellensis, of which Regan gave the type locality as from a depth of 37 fathoms in the Seychelles.[3][4] The type was collected by John Stanley Gardiner.[5] The genus name is a compound of pogon meaning "beard", an allusion to the well developed mental barbel, and scorpius, a "scorpion" indicating that this is a scorpionfish. The specific name indicates that its origin is the Seychelles.[6]
Pogonoscorpius sechellensis is found at depths down to 68 metres (223 ft). This species reaches a length of 5.1 centimetres (2.0 in) SL.[2]
Pogonoscorpius sechellensis is similar to the species in the genus Rhinopias but differ in colouration and in the possession of a mental barbel. It has 12 spines and 9 soft rays in the dorsal fin, the last ray being split and is sometimes counted as 1.5 rays. The anal fin has 3 spines and 5 soft rays. The colour is described a yellowish with reddish tinged fins.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b Motomura, H.; Matsuura, K.; Khan, M. (2018). "Pogonoscorpius sechellensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T114177913A115546768. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T114177913A115546768.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Pogonoscorpius sechellensis". FishBase. August 2021 version.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Scorpaenidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Pogonoscorpius". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
- ^ Regan, C. T. (1908). "Report on the marine fishes collected by Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner in the Indian Ocean". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 2nd Series. Zoology. 12 (3): 217–255. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1908.tb00199.x.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (2 October 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 9): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Family Scorpaenidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
- ^ Eschmeyer, W. N.; Y. Hirosaki; and T. Abe (1973). "Two new species of the scorpionfish genus Rhinopias, with comments on related genera and species". Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. Series 4. 39 (16): 285–310.