Pseudovespicula dracaena

Pseudovespicula dracaena
	Pseudovespicula dracaena
Systematics
	Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Order :	Perch-like (Perciformes)
Subordination :	Scorpionfish relatives (Scorpaenoidei)
Family :	Forehead fins (Tetrarogidae)
Genre :	Pseudovespicula
Type :	Pseudovespicula dracaena
Scientific name of the genus
	Pseudovespicula
	Mandrytsa , 2001
Scientific name of the species
	Pseudovespicula dracaena
	( Cuvier , 1829)

Pseudovespicula dracaena is a small bony fish species from the family of the forehead fin (Tetrarogidae), which occurs in the western Indian Ocean and lives there near the coast mainly on sandy soils and in bays.

features

Pseudovespicula dracaena reaches a length of 7.5 cm and is scaly. The standard length is 2.45 to 3.1 times the maximum body height. It is light brown in color and patterned with irregular dark brown spots. Broad dark stripes run below the eyes and from the beginning of the dorsal fin to the eyes. The dorsal fin is light and shows a brown spot in the middle, in most cases between the sixth and ninth fin rays. Further back there are more irregular brown spots. The caudal fin is white and patterned with little noticeable, small, dark dots. The lacrimale has two spines, a short one ventrally and a long one in front that extends below the middle of the eye. The preoperculum has two spines, one long and one short blunt. The dorsal fin begins just above the eyes. It is supported by twelve spines and seven soft rays. The third and fourth spines are far apart and the membrane between them is clearly indented. The anal fin has three spines and five to six soft rays. The pectoral fins are long, but do not reach the rear end of the anal fin. Their shorter lower fin rays are connected to the rest of the fin. The caudal fin is slightly rounded. Like all forehead fins , Pseudovespicula dracaena has poisonous fin rays.

Systematics

The fish species was first scientifically described in 1829 by the French zoologist and paleontologist Georges Cuvier under the name Apistus dracaena . The American ichthyologist John Ernest Randall assigned the species to the genus Vespicula in 1995 and in 2001 Mandrytsa classified the genus Pseudovespicula in his dissertation on the sideline system of the dragon's head relatives for the species that has remained monotypical to this day.

supporting documents

↑ Pseudovespicula dracaena on Fishbase.org (English)
^ KE Carpenter, Friedhelm Krupp, DA Jones, Uwe Zajonz: FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of Kuwait, Eastern Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Jan 1997, FAO, Rome, Italy, 138.
↑ Randall, JE (1995): Coastal fishes of Oman. Crawford House Publishing Pty Ltd, Bathurst, Australia. i-xvi + 1-439.
↑ Mandrytsa, SA (2001): Lateral line system and classification of scorpaenoid fishes (Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenoidei). Ph.D. dissertation, Perm University. 1-393.

[Fishbase-1] Pseudovespicula dracaena on Fishbase.org (English)

[Carpenter-2] KE Carpenter, Friedhelm Krupp, DA Jones, Uwe Zajonz: FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of Kuwait, Eastern Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Jan 1997, FAO, Rome, Italy, 138.

[3] Randall, JE (1995): Coastal fishes of Oman. Crawford House Publishing Pty Ltd, Bathurst, Australia. i-xvi + 1-439.

[4] Mandrytsa, SA (2001): Lateral line system and classification of scorpaenoid fishes (Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenoidei). Ph.D. dissertation, Perm University. 1-393.