Lioscorpiusis a genus of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the subfamily Setarchinae, the deep-sea bristly scorpionfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. They are native to the western Pacific Ocean.
| Lioscorpius | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Scorpaenidae |
| Subfamily: | Setarchinae |
| Genus: | Lioscorpius Günther, 1880 |
| Type species | |
| Lioscorpius longiceps Günther, 1880[1]
| |
Taxonomy
editLioscorpiusas formally described as a genus in 1880 by the German-born British ichthyologist Albert Günther when he described what was then its only species, L. longiceps, from the Kai Islands in the Banda Sea in Indonesia.[1][2] The genus name Lioscorpius is a compound of lio, meaning "smooth", Gunther described the head of L. longiceps "with scarcely any ridges or spines", and scorpius which means "scorpion", indicating that this is a scorpionfish.[3]
Species
editThere are currently two recognized species in this genus:[4]
- Lioscorpius longiceps Günther, 1880 (Slender scorpionfish)
- Lioscorpius trifasciatus Last, Yearsley & Motomura, 2005 (Tripleband scorpionfish)
Characteristics
editLioscorpius scorpionfishes have a preorbital bone which has a very small first spine. A long projection above the preorbital covers its articulating surface. The rearmost 2-3 spines in the dorsal fin are small and are often embedded in the skin. They have a well developed swimbladded and a large gas gland. They have more slender bodies than related genera within the Setarchinae, the depth being around a quarter of the standard length, they also have a thin space between the eyes.[5] The two species within the genus are distinguished by L. longiceps having 2 spines and 6 soft trays in its anal fin and L. trifasciatus having 3 spines and 5 soft rays in its anal fin.[6]
Distribution and habitat
editLioscorpius scorpionfishes are found in the western Pacific from Japan south to Australia, including Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji.[4][6] They are described as bathydemersal (L. longiceps) or benthopelagic (L. trifasciatus) and are found at depths of between 180 and 410 m (590 and 1,350 ft).[4]
References
edit- ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Setarchidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Lioscorpius". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ Scharpf, Christopher & Lazara, Kenneth J., eds. (22 May 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 8): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Families Sebastidae, Setarchidae and Neosebastidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Lioscorpius". FishBase. August 2021 version.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William; Collette, Bruce (1966). "The Scorpionfish Subfamily Setarchinae, including the Genus Ectreposebastes". Bulletin of Marine Science. 16 (2): 349–375.
- ^ a b Motomura, Hiroyuki; Causse, Romain & Struthers, Carl D. (2016). "First records of the deepwater scorpionfish, Lioscorpius trifasciatus (Setarchidae), from outside Australian waters". Biogeography. 18: 23–28.