Spine back

Spine back
	Chirolophis decoratus
Systematics
	Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
	Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Order :	Perch-like (Perciformes)
Subordination :	Cottoidei
Partial order :	Eel mother relatives (Zoarcales)
Family :	Spine back
Scientific name
	Stichaeidae
	Gill , 1864

The spine backs (Stichaeidae) are a family of eel mother relatives and live with around 45 species in 14 genera in the North Pacific, some species also in the North Atlantic.

features

They are slender and elongated, depending on the species, 4.5 to 70 centimeters long ground dwellers. Her body is covered with tiny round scales. The long, fringed dorsal fin is only supported by hard rays in many species . The pelvic fins are very small, but they can also be missing. If available, they have one hard and four soft rays. Many species have tufted skin protrusions over the eyes. The distance from the tip of the snout to the beginning of the anal fin is exactly as long as the distance from the beginning of the anal fin to the beginning of the caudal fin. The sideline can be missing, but there can be up to four on each side. The gill slit is narrow and there is no swim bladder .

Fins formula : dorsal XXII – CXXVII / 0–82, anal I – V / 20–102

Way of life

The fish live in cold water at depths of up to 250 meters. Among other things, they feed on amphipods and water lice, and some Japanese species also eat sea anemones . The eggs are laid in clumps and guarded by a parent.

Internal system

There are 4 subfamilies, 14 genera and 45 species:

Soldatovia polyactocephala

Subfamily Alectriinae
Subfamily Chirolophinae
Subfamily Stichaeinae
Subfamily Xiphisterinae

The subfamilies Snake Backs (Lumpeninae), Neozoarcinae and Opisthocentridae , which were formerly assigned to the spine backs, are now independent families, Azygopterus corallinus and Leptostichaeus pumilus belong to the family Eulophiidae .

literature

Joseph S. Nelson : Fishes of the World , John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN 0-471-25031-7 .
Kurt Fiedler: Textbook of Special Zoology, Volume II, Part 2: Fish . Gustav Fischer Verlag Jena, 1991, ISBN 3-334-00339-6 .

Individual evidence

↑ OA Radchenko: The system of the suborder Zoarcoidei (Pisces, Perciformes) as inferred from molecular genetic data Russian Journal of Genetics, November 2015, Volume 51, Issue 11, pp 1096–1112, DOI: 10.1134 / S1022795415100130
^ Eschmeyer, WN & Fong, JD: Catalog of Fishes Species by Family / Subfamily , accessed on July 13, 2018.

Web links

Commons : Spine Backs - collection of images, videos, and audio files

Spine back on Fishbase.org (English)

[Radchenko2015-1] OA Radchenko: The system of the suborder Zoarcoidei (Pisces, Perciformes) as inferred from molecular genetic data Russian Journal of Genetics, November 2015, Volume 51, Issue 11, pp 1096–1112, DOI: 10.1134 / S1022795415100130

[2] Eschmeyer, WN & Fong, JD: Catalog of Fishes Species by Family / Subfamily , accessed on July 13, 2018.