Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis/Classis: Actinopterygii
Classis/Subclassis: Actinopteri
Subclassis/Infraclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Megacohors: Osteoglossocephalai
Supercohors: Clupeocephala
Cohors: Euteleosteomorpha
Subcohors: Neoteleostei
Infracohors: Eurypterygia
Sectio: Ctenosquamata
Subsectio: Acanthomorphata
Divisio/Superordo: Acanthopterygii
Ordo: Scorpaeniformes
Subordo: Scorpaenoidei
Familia: Scorpaenidae
Subfamilia: Caracanthinae
Genus: Caracanthus
Name
Caracanthinae
Synonyms
Caracanthidae
References
Imamura, H. 2004: Phylogenetic relationships and new classification of the superfamily Scorpaenoidea (Actinopterygii: Perciformes). Species diversity, 9: 1–36.
Koya, Y. & Muñoz, M. 2007: Comparative study on ovarian structures in scorpaenids: possible evolutional process of reproductive mode. Ichthyological Research 54(3), 221-230. DOI: 10.1007/s10228-006-0394-7 PDF
Shinohara, G. & Imamura, H. 2005: Anatomical description and phylogenetic classification of the orbicular velvetfishes (Scorpaenoidea: Caracanthus). Ichthyological Research 52(1), 64-76. DOI: 10.1007/s10228-004-0256-0
Links
Caracanthidae – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Caracanthidae in the World Register of Marine Species
Caracanthinae and its species in FishBase,
Froese, R. & Pauly, D. (eds.) 2024. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication, www.fishbase.org, version 02/2024.
Genera of Caracanthinae (including synonyms) in Catalog of Fishes, Eschmeyer, W.N., Fricke, R. & van der Laan, R. (eds.) 2024. Catalog of Fishes electronic version.
Caracanthus and its species (including synonyms) in Catalog of Fishes, Eschmeyer, W.N., Fricke, R. & van der Laan, R. (eds.) 2024. Catalog of Fishes electronic version.
Vernacular names
Deutsch: Pelzgroppen
English: Coral crouchers, orbicular velvetfishes, velvetfishes
lietuvių: Mažosios velvetės
中文: 頰棘鮋科
Caracanthus, the coral crouchers, or orbicular velvetfishes, are a genus of ray-finned fishes. They live in coral reefs of the tropical Indo-Pacific. This genus is the only member of the monotypic subfamily Caracanthinae, part of the family Scorpaenidae.
Taxonomy
Caracanthus was first formally described as a monotypic genus in 1845 by the Danish zoologist Henrik Nikolai Krøyer when he described the new species the Hawaiian orbicular velvetfish (Caracanthus typicus).[2] The genus is the only genus in the monotypic subfamily Caracanthinae within the family Scorpaenidae. Molecular studies have found that the Caracanthinae should probably be treated as a tribe within the subfamily Scorpaeninae, or possibly included in the tribe Scorpaenini.[3] The genus name is a compound of cara, meaning "head" and acanthus, meaning "thorn" or "spine", an allusion to the strong spines on the infraorbital bone of C. typicus.[4]
Characteristics
Caracanthus fishes have an oval, laterally compressed body which is covered in small, rough papillae with a small, terminal mouth. There is a single notch in the dorsal fin which has its origin on the nape and which contains between 6 and 8 spines and 11 and 14 soft rays. The anal fin has 2 spines and between 11 and 14 soft rays. There are 12 to 14 rays in the pectoral fins but the pelvic fins are small and barely noticeable, they have a single spine and 2 or 3 small soft rays. There are tiny scales on the head, each bearing a single spine.[3] Like the related velvetfishes, they have a velvety skin. The small pectoral fins are used to wedge themselves into crevices in the coral.[5] These small fishes vary in size from a maximum standard length of 2.9 cm (1.1 in) in C. typicus to a maximum total length of 5 cm (2.0 in) for the other 3 species.[6]
Species
There are currently four recognized species in this genus:[6]
Caracanthus maculatus (J. E. Gray, 1831) (Spotted coral croucher)
Caracanthus madagascariensis (Guichenot, 1869) (Spotted croucher)
Caracanthus typicus Krøyer, 1845 (Hawaiian orbicular velvetfish)
Caracanthus unipinna (J. E. Gray, 1831) (Pygmy coral croucher)
Distribution and habitat
Caracanthus fishes are found in the Indian and Pacific oceans where they are closely associated with coral, living among the coral branches.[3]
References
Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of Recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 001–230. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1. PMID 25543675.
Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Scorpaenidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 468–475. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
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 13 March 2022.
Eschmeyer, William N. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 176. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2022). Species of Caracanthus in FishBase. February 2022 version.
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