Neochirus brachypterus
Species of fish
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neochirus brachypterus, the dwarf lionfish, short-finned turkeyfish, shortspine rockcod or shortspine scorpionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and lionfishes. It is found in the Indo-Pacific. It is sometimes found in the aquarium trade.
| Neochirus brachypterus | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Division: | Teleostei |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Scorpaenidae |
| Genus: | Neochirus |
| Species: | N. brachypterus |
| Binomial name | |
| Neochirus brachypterus (Cuvier, 1829) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Taxonomy
Neochirus brachypterus was first formally described in 1829 as Pterois brachyptera by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier with no type locality given.[3]. The specific name means "short-finned", an allusion to the relatively short pectoral fins compared to Dendrochirus zebra, which Cuvier first described in the same publication.[4] This species was previously placed in the genus Dendrochirus; a 2023 molecular and morphological phylogenetic study of the lionfishes reassigned it to the newly erected Neochirus.[5]
Description
Neochirus brachypterus has 13 spines and 9 or 10 soft rays in its dorsal fin, the middle spines of the dorsal fin are shorter than the depth of the body, and there are 3 spines and 5 soft rays in the anal fin.[2] The background colour is dusky mottled brown to reddish-brown broken by darker bars on the body. The pectoral fins are distinctly banded. There is a short tentacle over the eye and leaf-like appendages on the head and along the lateral line which vary in their development. There are no filaments on the pelvic fins.[6] There are black spots edged with red on the filaments extending from the dorsal spines and there are 8-10 dark bars on pectoral fins.[7] This species attains a maximum published total length of 17 cm (6.7 in).[2]
Distribution and habitat
Neochirus brachypterus has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution from the eastern coast of Africa from the Red Sea south to South Africa and eastwards to Samoa, north to the Philippines and south to Australia.[1] In Australian waters, this species occurs from the Houtman Abrolhos in Western Australia to Sydney in New South Wales, as well as Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea.[6] The dwarf lionfish is found at depths between 1 and 80 m (3 ft 3 in and 262 ft 6 in) in reef flats and shallow lagoons, where there are weed-covered rocks on sandy substrates.[2]
Biology
Neochirus brachypterus is a nocturnal predator of small crustaceans.[1] The adults are frequently found on sponges while small aggregations of up to 10 juveniles frequent reef outcrops.[2] During the day, it shelters in caves and crevices and among sponges .[6] The males and females form pairs to mate, and the females have specialised structures on the ovaries, including stalk-like egg-creating lamellae and secretory cells in the epithelium.[2] The dorsal fin spines are venomous.[6]
