Pontinus tentacularis
| Pontinus tentacularis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family: | Scorpaenidae |
| Genus: | Pontinus |
| Species: | P. tentacularis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pontinus tentacularis (Fowler, 1938)
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Pontinus tentacularis is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.
Taxonomy[edit]
Pontinus tentacularis was first formally described in 1938 by the American ichthyologist Henry Weed Fowler with the type being collected in region of northern Mindanao in the Philippines.[2] This species is thought by some authorities to be conspecific with P. rhodochrous and maybe P. macrocephalus.[3] The specific name tentacularis means "having tentacles", a reference to the tentacles above the eyes.[4]
Description[edit]
Pontinus tentacularishas an oval shaped compressed, body with a compressed head with a large mouth.[5] The body has a depth which is just over a quarter of its standard length.[6] There are well developed spines on the head and there are elongated supraorbital tentacles. The dorsal fin has 12 spines and 9 soft rays, the soft rayed part of the dorsal fin is rounded, The anal fin has 3 spines and 5 soft rays. The caudal fin is rounded. The colour is brown with darker and lighter shading with 5 dark saddle marks along the back but these do not extend onto the dorsal fin. The fins are light brown and the supraorbital tentacle is blackish.[5]
Distribution and habitat[edit]
Pontinus tentacularis is found in the Indian Ocean from the Réunion and Mauritius east to the Philippines in the western Pacific Ocean. It is a marine demersal fish which lives at depths between 170 and 600 m (560 and 1,970 ft).[6] This species occurs over seamounts and knolls.[7]
Observations[edit]
Pontinus tentacularis is harmless for humans.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ "Catalogue of Life". catalogueoflife.org. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Pontinus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ Bray, D.J. (2019). "Pontinus rhodochrous". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ 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 25 January 2022.
- ^ a b Fowler, H. W. (1938). "Descriptions of new fishes obtained by the United States Bureau of Fisheries steamer "Albatross", chiefly in Philippine seas and adjacent waters". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 85 (3032): 31–135.
- ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2021). "Pontinus tentacularis" in FishBase. April 2021 version.
- ^ Nicolas Bailly (2008). "Pontinus tentacularis (Fowler, 1938)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
Bibliography[edit]
- Anonymous, 2001. Database of the collection of fishes of the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution). Smithsonian Institution - Division of Fishes.
- Wu, H.L., K.-T. Shao And C.F. Lai (eds.), 1999. Latin-Chinese dictionary of fishes names. The Sueichan Press, Taiwan.