Enophrys
Genus of fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Enophrys is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Psychrolutidae, the marine sculpins. These fishes are found in the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean.
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| Enophrys Temporal range: Potential Eocene record | |
|---|---|
| |
| Buffalo Sculpin (E. bison) | |
 | |
| Antlered Sculpin (E. diceraus) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Suborder: | Cottoidei |
| Family: | Psychrolutidae |
| Genus: | Enophrys Swainson, 1839 |
| Type species | |
| Cottus claviger | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
Taxonomy
Enophrys was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1839 by the English zoologist William 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]
- Enophrys bison (Girard, 1854) (Buffalo sculpin)
- Enophrys diceraus (Pallas, 1787) (Antlered sculpin)
- Enophrys lucasi (D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert, 1898) (Leister sculpin)
- Enophrys taurina C. H. Gilbert, 1914 (Bull sculpin)
The fossil species †Enophrys hoplites Nazarkin, 2017 is known from complete fossil skeletons recovered from the Middle Miocene-aged Agnevo Formation of Sakhalin, Russia. In addition, the potential fossil species †Enophrys euglyphus Stinton, 1966 is known from isolated otoliths recovered from the Early Eocene-aged London Clay of England.[7]
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.[8] 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]