Enophrys

Enophrys
Buffalo Sculpin (E. bison)
Antlered Sculpin (E. diceraus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Cottidae
Subfamily: Cottinae
Genus: Enophrys
Swainson, 1839
Type species
Cottus claviger
Cuvier, 1829[1]
Synonyms[1]

Enophrys is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. These fishes are found in the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

Enophrys was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1839 by the English zoologist William John Swainson with its only and type species being Cottus claviger.[1] This species had been described in 1839 by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier from Kamchatka but it was later determined to be a synonym of Cottus diceraus, originally described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1787, also from Kamchatka.[2] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies this genus within the subfamily Cottinae of the family Cottidae,[3] however, other authors classify the genus within the subfamily Myoxocephalinae of the family Psychrolutidae,[1] although others place the subfamily Myoxocephalinae within the Cottidae.[4]

Etymology

Enophrys prefixes phrys, meaning "brow", with en, ning "very", presumed to be a reference to the thick orbital ridge of the type species.[5]

Species

Enophrys contains 4 recognized species within it:[6]

Characteristics

Enophrys sculpins share the possession of plates along their lateral lines and some species have prickly scales underneath the lateral line. They also have a very long, sharp spine on the upper preoperculum and sharp spines on the nose.[7] The bull sculpin is the smallest species with a maximum recorded total length of 17 cm (6.7 in) while the largest species is the buffalo sculpin which reaches a maximum published total length of 37 cm (15 in).[6]

Distribution

Enophrys sculpins are only found in the northern and Eastern Pacific Oceans from the Sea of Japan to California.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Myoxocephalinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  2. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Enophrys". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  3. ^ 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. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  4. ^ Olga A. Radchenko; Irina N. Moreva; Anna V. Petrovskaya (2021). "The subfamily Myoxocephalinae of cottid fishes (Cottidae): Genetic divergence and phylogenetic relationships". Journal of Fish Biology. 99: 1857–1868. doi:10.1111/jfb.14886.
  5. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (22 October 2022). "Order Perciformes: Suborder Cottoidea: Infraorder Cottales: Family Cottidae (Sculpins)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Enophrys". FishBase. August 2022 version.
  7. ^ Matthew L. Knope (2013). "Phylogenetics of the marine sculpins (Teleostei: Cottidae) of the North American Pacific Coast". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 66: 341–349. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.10.008.