Rhinopias cea
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| Rhinopias cea | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Scorpaenidae |
| Genus: | Rhinopias |
| Species: | R. cea |
| Binomial name | |
| Rhinopias cea J. E. Randall & Disalvo, 1997 | |
Rhinopias cea, or Cea's scorpionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. This species is only known from two sites in the southern Pacific Ocean.
Rhinopias cea was first formally described in 1997 by the American biologists John E. Randall and Louis Henry DiSalvo Chalfant with the type locality is given as Motu Iti, Easter Island.[2] The holotype was caught by hand in February 1985.[3] The specific name honours the Chilean physician, SCUBA diver, photographer, filmmaker and spearfisherman Alfredo Cea Egaña in recognition of his contribution to the authors knowledge of the fishes of Easter Island.[4]
Description
Rhinopias cea is similar to R. argoliba and shares a low dorsal fin and a low number of flaps and tentacles on the skin. The overall colour is reddish brown but differs from R. argoliba in being more mottled and in not possessing the white teardrop shaped mark between the eye and the rear end of the upper jaw.[5] There is a pair of obvious dark blotches on the body above the pectoral fin. This species attains a maximum length of 20.2 cm (8.0 in).[6]