Grammoplites

Life-forms

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: Platycephaloidei

Familia: Platycephalidae
Genus: Grammoplites
Species: G. knappi – G. scaber – G. suppositus – G. vittatus
Name

Grammoplites Fowler, 1904
Gender masculine

References

Grammoplites in the World Register of Marine Species

Grammoplites is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Taxonomy

Grammoplites was first proposed as a genus in 1904 by the American zoologist Henry Weed Fowler, Fowler's genus was originally monotypic with Cottus scaber, described in 1758 by Linnaeus, designated as its type species.[1] 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.[2] The genus name Grammoplites is a combination of gramme, meaning "line", and hoplites, which means "armed", an allusion to the scaled spines on the lateral line of G. scaber.[3]
Species

Grammoplites contains 4 recognised species::[4][5]

Grammoplites knappi Imamura & Amaoka, 1994
Grammoplites scaber Linnaeus, 1758 (Rough flathead)
Grammoplites suppositus Troschel, 1840 (Spotfin flathead)
Grammoplites vittatus Valenciennes, 1833 [6]

G. vittatus has been considered as a junior synonym of G. scaber but other authorities regard it as a valid species.[5]
Characteristics

Grammoplites flatheads have at least two spines on the preoperculum, with the upper spine being the longest. The caudal fin lacks any elongated filaments from the upper lobe. The first dorsal fin contains between 7 and 10 spines while the second dorsal fin has up to 12 soft rays. There are two separate patches of vomerine teeth.The lateral line has 48 to 56 pored scales, all of which bear a robust spine.[7] The maximum total length attained by these fishes is around 30 cm (12 in).[4]
Distribution

Grammoplites flatheads are found in the Indo-West pacific region and are found from the southern Red Sea and the northern Indian Ocean east to the South China Sea.[5]
References

Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Platycephalidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
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.
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 7 July 2022.
Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2022). Species of Grammoplites in FishBase. February 2022 version.
Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Grammoplites". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
Knapp, L.W. & Imamura, H. (2014). "Grammoplites vittatus (Valenciennes), (Scorpaeniformes, Platycephalidae), removed from synonymy with Grammoplites scaber (Linnaeus)". Zootaxa. 3846 (3): 447–450. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3846.3.8.
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.