Cirrhitops mascarenensis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cirrhitops mascarenensis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Réunion | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Centrarchiformes |
| Family: | Cirrhitidae |
| Genus: | Cirrhitops |
| Species: | C. mascarenensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Cirrhitops mascarenensis | |
Cirrhitops mascarenensis is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a hawkfish belonging to the family Cirrhitidae. It is found in the southwestern Indian Ocean.
Cirrhitops mascarenensis was first formally described in 2008 by John Ernest Randall and Jennifer K. Schultz with the type locality given as a pass close to the Trou d'Eau Douce off the eastern coast of Mauritius.[1] The Cirrhitops hawkfish found in the southwestern Indian Ocean were regarded as conspecific with those found around the Hawaiian Islands, the redbarred hawkfish (C. fasciatus) but in 2008, Randall and Schultz, described a new species from the south western Indian Ocean based on genetic and morphological analyses. This then resolved the status of the redbarred hawkfish as a species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.[2] The specific name means "of the Mascarenes", a reference to the islands of Mauritius and Réunion which form part of its range.[3]