Insidiator is a genus of marine, demersal ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae. These fishes are native to the eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean.
| Insidiator | |
|---|---|
| |
| Insidiator macracanthus syn. Platycephalus macracanthus | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family: | Platycephalidae |
| Genus: | Insidiator D. S. Jordan [D. S.] & Snyder, 1900 |
| Type species | |
| Platycephalus rudis, a synonym of Insidiator meerdervoortii | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Taxonomy
editInsidiator was first proposed as a monotypic genus in 1900 by the American ichthyologists David Starr Jordan and John Otterbein Snyder with Platycephalus rudis, which had been described in 1877 from Yokohama in Japan, designated as its type species.[1][2] In 1930 the Australian ichthyologist Gilbert Percy Whitley proposed the replacement name Suggrundus for this genus because he thought Jordan and Snyder's name was preoccupied by Insidiator Oken 1842 or by Insidiator Amyot 1845 but these names were objectively invalid and the original name is valid and Suggrundus is a junior synonym of Insidiator D. S. Jordan & Snyder 1900.[3] This genus is classified within the family Playtcephalidae, the flatheads which the 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies within the suborder Platycephaloidei in the order Scorpaeniformes.[4]
Etymology
editInsidiator means "ambusher" or "lurker", an allusion Jordan and Snyder did not explain, it may refer to the ambush predatory behaviour of the flatheads, in which they hide in the sediment with only the eyes showing, and striking suddenly at passing prey which is swallowed whole by their large mouths. Jordan and Snyder may have taken inspiration for this name from Forsskål's Cottus insidiator, a junior synonym of the bartail flathead (Platycephalus indicus).[5]
Species
editInsidiator currently contains 3 valid species:[6][2]
- Insidiator cooperi (Regan, 1908)
- Insidiator macracanthus (Bleeker, 1869) (Large-spined flathead)
- Insidiator meerdervoortii (Bleeker, 1860)
Characteristics
editInsidiator flatheads have at least 2 spines on the preoperculum, with the upper spine being the longest, bayonet like and extending past the margin of the operculum. There is no elongation of the upper lobe of the caudal fin with no elongated filament extending out from that fin. The first dorsal fin has between 8 or 9 spines. the second being equal in height to the third, while the second dorsal fin has no more than 12 soft rays. There are 2 separate patches of vomerine teeth. There are between 48 and 56 pored scales, each with 2 pores, on the lateral line with spines on the scales in the anterior portion of that line. The diagonal rows of scales run downwards and backwards over lateral line and the number of these rows is roughly about equal to the number of scales in the lateral line, typically with a difference of only 1 or 2 scales. The margin of the pectoral fin is not curved. The bony ridges on the head have a few larger spines and the side of head below the eye has two ridges. The lappet on the iris is either branched with short branches or crenulated. There is a single preocular spine which can have a cluster of smaller spines around its base. The upper preopercular spine bayonet-like, reaching to or past opercular margin.[7] The maximum length attained by these fishes varies from a standard length of 16.4 cm (6.5 in) in I. meerdervoortii to a total length of 30 cm (12 in) in I. cooperi.[6]
Distribution and habitat
editInsidiator flatfishes are found in the Indo-West Pacific from the Seychelles[8] east to the Coral Sea, south to Australia[9] and north to Japan.[10] They are demersal fish found at depths down to 132 m (433 ft).[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Platycephalidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Insidiator". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ Imamura, Hisashi & Hoese, Doug (2020). "Insidiator Jordan and Snyder 1900, a valid genus of the family Platycephalidae (Scorpaeniformes)". Ichthyological Research. 67 (4): 541–544. Bibcode:2020IchtR..67..541I. doi:10.1007/s10228-020-00742-w. S2CID 215575329.
- ^ J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 467–495. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (7 December 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 11): Suborder Platycephaloidei: Families Bembridae, Parabembridae, Hoplichthyidae, Platycephalidae and Plectrogeniidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Suggrundus". FishBase. February 2022 version.
- ^ L.W. Poss (1999). "Platycephalidae Flatheads". In Carpenter, K.E.; Niem, V.H. (eds.). FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 4. Bony fishes part 2 (Mugilidae to Carangidae). FAO, Rome. pp. 2385–2421. ISBN 9251043019.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Suggrundus cooperi". FishBase. February 2022 version.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Suggrundus macracanthus". FishBase. February 2022 version.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Suggrundus meerdervoortii". FishBase. February 2022 version.