Satyrichthys

Satyrichthys
Satyrichthys rieffeli
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Peristediidae
Genus: Satyrichthys
Kaup, 1873
Type species
Peristethus rieffeli
Kaup, 1859
Synonyms[1]
  • Acanthostedion Fowler, 1943

Satyrichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Peristediidae, the armoured gurnards or armored searobins. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific region.

Taxonomy[edit]

Satyrichthys was first described as a monotypic genus in 1873 by the German zoologist Johann Jakob Kaup with Peristethus rieffeli as its only species.[1] Kaup had described P. reifeli in 1853 with iots type locality given as China.[2] Within the family Peristediidae there are 2 clades, this genus is in the clade consisting of 5 genera, with the nominate genus Peristedion in the other clade.[3] The name of the genus Satyrichtys was not explained by Kaup but it combines satyr, meaning "god" or "demon", with ichthys, meaning "fish", the first part may be an allusion to the two fork-shaped projections at the end of the snout of S. rieffeli, resembling the horns depicted on demons.[4]

Species[edit]

Satyrichthys currently contains 7 recognized species:[5]

Characteristics[edit]

Satyrichthys armoured gurnards have no teeth in their upper jaws, the sides of the head are smooth. The rear scutes in the lower lateral rows are not joined to the ventral midline. They have no branched barbels on the lower jaw apart from the rearmost lip and chin barbels. The second dorsal fin and the anal fin contain less than 20 soft rays.[7] The smallest of these fishes is S. longiceps which has a maximum published standard length of 15.5 cm (6.1 in) while the largest is S. laticeps which has a maximum published standard length of 48.7 cm (19.2 in).[5]

Distribution[edit]

Satyrichthys armoured gurnards occur in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific Ocean.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Peristediinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  2. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Satyrichthys". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  3. ^ Toshio Kawai (2008). "Phylogenetic Systematics of the Family Peristediidae (Teleostei: Actinopterygii)". Species Diversity. 13 (1): 1–34. doi:10.12782/specdiv.13.1.
  4. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (26 June 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 12): Suborder Triglioidei: Families Triglidae and Peristediidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  5. ^ a b Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2006). Species of Satyrichthys in FishBase. April 2006 version.
  6. ^ Kawai, T. (2013): Revision of the peristediid genus Satyrichthys (Actinopterygii: Teleostei) with the description of a new species, S. milleri sp. nov. Zootaxa, 3635 (4): 419–438.
  7. ^ a b Dianne J. Bray. "Satyrichthys". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 29 June 2022.