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Prionotus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Prionotus
Temporal range: Pliocene - recent, 3.6–0 Ma
↓
Leopard searobin (P. scitulus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Triglidae
Subfamily: Prionotinae
Genus: Prionotus
Lacépède, 1801
Type species
Trigla evolans
Species

See text

Synonyms[1]
List
  • Chriolax D.S. Jordan & Gilbert, 1879
  • Colotrigla Gill, 1905
  • Dinichthys Kaup, 1873
  • Exolissus D.S. Jordan, 1923
  • Fissala Gill, 1905
  • Gurnardus D.S. Jordan & Evermann, 1898
  • Marubecula Whitley, 1950
  • Merulinus D.S. Jordan & Evermann, 1898
  • Ornichthys Swainson, 1839
  • Triscurrichthys Whitley, 1931

Prionotus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triglidae, one of two genera belonging to the subfamily Prionotinae, the searobins. These fishes are found in the Western Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific Ocean, in the waters off the Americas.

Taxonomy

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P. evolans, the type species

Prionotus was first described as a genus in 1801 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède, who described it as a monotypic genus with its type species being Trigla evolans, described by Linnaeus in 1766. The genus is one of 2 genera classified within the subfamily Prionotinae, the searobins, in the gurnard family Triglidae.[1]

Etymology

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The genus name is a compound of prion; "saw", and notus; "back", as Lacépède saw three free dorsal spines (not encased in the fin's membrane) when he was describing the type species P. evolans but these were probably the result of damage to the specimen.[2]

Species

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Bluewing searobin (P. punctatus)

There are currently 23 recognized species in this genus:[3]

P. murielae is based on a single holotype and in 2020 it was proposed that this was a juvenile of P. ophyras,[5] and this taxon is treated as a junior synonym of P. ophryas.[6]

Characteristics

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Gurnard from the Galápagos; either P. miles or the newly recognized P. pictus

Prionotus searobins have a large, nearly square and bony head which bears a number of spines and ridges with a wide interorbital space. The mouth is either terminal or slightly inferior with "simple" teeth on the jaws and on the roof of the mouth. There are 2 separate dorsal fins; the first usually possessing 10, sometimes 9 or 11, spines, although the very short rear spines are very difficult to discern. The second dorsal fin has 11 to 13 soft rays. The long pectoral fins extend beyond the middle of the base of the anal fin and contains 13-14 rays within its membrane, and 2-3 enlarged rays at the bottom of the fin that are free, not encased in the membrane. Most of the body is covered in rough scales including the upper rear flap of the operculum over the spine with scales and the nape.[7] The largest species is the common sea robin (P. ruscarius) of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, which has a maximum published total length of 30.5 cm (12.0 in), while the smallest is P. murielae with a maximum published total length of 6 cm (2.4 in).[3]

Distribution and habitat

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Prionotus sea robins are found in the tropical and temperate waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean off both North and South America.[3] These benthic fishes occur in inshore waters such as bays and estuaries.[8] Fossils of Prionotus have been found in England and along the Atlantic Coast of the United States from Florida to New Jersey.[9]

Biology

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Prionotus are able to create "grunting" vocalisations by vibrating the swim bladder using certain muscles; due to resonance within the swim bladder, this sound resembles the croaking of a frog and is likely the origin of the alternative common name of "gurnard", derived from a French word meaning, "to grunt".[citation needed] These fishes are less active in the daylight hours and are mostly nocturnal, using their enlarged separate pectoral fin rays to "walk" along the substrate and detect prey buried in the sand or mud. These rays can manipulate objects and detect prey using chemoreception. The bony, square head can be used to excavate small prey items from the substrate and their rather catholic diet includes crustaceans such as amphipods, cephalopods, gastropods, bivalves, eggs, other fish, and seaweed, with the juveniles eating more copepods. Their sharp spines seem to deter most predators but they are preyed on by some sharks.[8]

During mating season they are known to make a staccato call, different from their typical grunts. They spawn between late spring and early fall, with activity peaking in July and August. They are batch spawners; the females have a few ripe eggs at a time and these are fertilized externally. The pelagic eggs are yellow, and have a diameter of less than 1 millimeter. They take around 60 hours to hatch and there is no parental care. The hatchling larvae are between 2 and 3 mm (0.079 and 0.118 in) in length. The walking rays develop when the larvae reach a length of 150 mm (5.9 in) and they attain sexual maturity around 2 or 3 years old, and may live for up to 11 years, though they usually they only live around 8 years.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Prionotinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  2. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (10 June 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 12): Suborder Triglioidei: Families Triglidae and Peristediidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Prionotus". FishBase. February 2022 version.
  4. ^ Victor, Benjamin C. (5 June 2025). "Prionotus pictus, a new endemic species of searobin from the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador (Teleostei: Triglidae)" (PDF). Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation. 43: 12–38. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15596906. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  5. ^ Victor, B.C. & Ianniello, L. (2020). "Prionotus murielae Mowbray, 1928 is the juvenile of the Bandtail Searobin Prionotus ophryas (Teleostei: Scorpaeniformes: Triglidae)". Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation. 35: 76–85. doi:10.5281/zenodo.3962673.
  6. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Prionotus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Genus: Prionotus, Searobins". Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Stephanie Boyd (November 2021). "Sea Robins". Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  9. ^ Selden, R. William (1986). "The Sea-robin Prionotus (Teleostei: Scorpaeniformes) in the Pleistocene of New Jersey". The Mosasaur. 3: 161–167.
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