Zaniolepis

This article is about the Cottoids. For the wrasse, see Comb wrasse.

Zaniolepis
Temporal range: Pleistocene to Present[1]
Longspine Combfish (Z. latipinnis)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Superfamily: Zaniolepidoidea
Shinohara, 1994[4]
Family: Zaniolepididae
Jordan & Gilbert, 1883
Subfamily: Zaniolepidinae
Jordan & Gilbert, 1883[2]
Genus: Zaniolepis
Girard, 1858
Type species
Zaniolepis latipinnis
Girard, 1858[3]
Synonyms[3]

Zaniolepis, the combfishes, is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, it is one of two genera in the family Zaniolepididae. These fishes are native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. Z. frenata that was a source of food to the Native American inhabitants of San Nicolas Island off the coast of southern California, United States during the Middle Holocene.[5]

Taxonomy

Zaniolepis was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1858 by the French zoologist Charles Frédéric Girard when he described Z. longispinis from Fort Steilacoom on Puget Sound in Washington.[6] This genus is one of two genera in the family Zaniolepidae, each of which is classified within a monotypic subfamily.[7] The subfamily Zaniolepinae, along with the Oxylebiinae, haves been classified as two subfamilies in the Hexagrammidae.[4]

Etymology

Zaniolepis is a combination of xanion, which is a Greek word for a comb used to card wool, and lepis, meaning "scale", referring to the overlapping, almost ctenoid scales of Z. latipinnis.[8]

Species

The currently recognized species in this genus are:[9]

Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
Zaniolepis frenata C. H. Eigenmann & R. S. Eigenmann, 1889 shortspine combfish Pacific Ocean southern Oregon, USA to central Baja California, Mexico.
Zaniolepis latipinnis Girard, 1858 longspine combfish northeast Pacific Ocean

Characteristics

Zaniolepis combfishes have a deep incision in the rear third their dorsal fin and the first 3 spines in the dorsal fin are highly elongated, extremely so in Z. latipinnis. The anal fin contains 3 spines while the first 2 rays in the pelvic fins are long and robust and extend past the origin of the anal fin. The caudal fin truncated.[7] These fishes reach a maximum length of 25 cm (9.8 in).[9]

Distribution and habitat

Zaniolepis combfishes are found in the eastern North Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Baja California. They are benthic fishes.[9]

References

  1. ^ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  2. ^ Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of Recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 001–230. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1. PMID 25543675.
  3. ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Zaniolepididae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  4. ^ a b Catherine W. Mecklenburg & William N. Eschmeyer (2003). "Family Hexagrammidae Gill 1889 Greenlings" (PDF). California Academy of Sciences Annotated Checklists of Fishes. 2.
  5. ^ Vellanoweth, R. L. & Erlandson, J. M. (1999): Middle Holocene Fishing and Maritime Adaptations at CA-SNI-161, San Nicolas Island, California. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 21(2): pp. 257-274
  6. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Zaniolepis". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  7. ^ a b 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.
  8. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (11 July 2021). "Order Perciformes: Suborder Cottoidea: Infraorder Zaniolepidoales: Family Zaniolepidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Zaniolepis". FishBase. August 2022 version.