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Pterois mombasae

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Species of fish

Pterois mombasae
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Scorpaenidae
Genus: Pterois
Species: P. mombasae
Binomial name
Pterois mombasae
(J. L. B. Smith, 1957)
Synonyms
  • Pteropterus mombasae J. L. B. Smith, 1957

Pterois mombasae, the African lionfish, deepwater firefish or frillfin turkeyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and lionfishes. It is found in the tropical Indian Ocean, typically in soft-bottomed areas of the ocean, often in conjunction with invertebrate growth (for example, sponges). It grows to a maximum size of 20 cm, and is of moderate commercial value.

Taxonomy

Pterois mombasae was first formally described in 1957 as Pteropterus mombasae by the South African ichthyologist J. L. B. Smith with the type locality given as a reef off Mombasa in Kenya. Smith noted that it seemed to most resemble Pterois sphex from Hawaii. In 2014 a new species, Pterois paucispinula, was described from the Western Pacific Ocean and the authors of that description stated that P. mombasae was restricted to the Indian Ocean and that previously the new species had been overlooked. The specific name refers to the type locality.

Description

Pterois mobasae has 13 spines and 10 soft rays in its dorsal fin and 3 spines and 6 or 7 soft rays in its anal fin. It has an oblong laterally compressed body and has either no supraoculat tentacles or they are very small. The 18-19 fin rays in the pectoral din are unbranched. The body has many brown to brownish red bars of differing widths, the bars on the caudal peduncle are thin and wavy. There s a brownish red spot, smaller in diameter than the pupil, on the lower operculum. The soft-rayed part of the dorsal fin as well as the anal and caudal fins is translucent marked with a scattering of small brownish red spots on the rays. The pelvic fin is blackish. The maximum published length is 31 cm (12 in), although a standard length of 20 cm (7.9 in) is more typical.

Pterois mombasae

Distribution and habitat

Pterois mombasae is found in the Indian Ocean from the eastern African coast between Kenya and South Africa, Madagascar and the Madives, India and east as far as the Andaman Sea. It is a rare inhabitant of rocky bottoms on deep offshore reefs and is usually found on soft-bottom or muddy substrates with thick ridges of rubble amongst rich growths of invertebrates, particularly sponges.

Front view

References

  1. ^ Motomura, H. & Matsuura, K. (2016). "Pterois mombasae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T69799689A69801027. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T69799689A69801027.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Pterois mombasae". FishBase. August 2022 version.
  3. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Pterois". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  4. Smith, J. L. B. (1957). "The fishes of the family Scorpaenidae in the western Indian Ocean. Pt. II. The subfamilies Pteroinae, Apistinae, Setarchinae and Sebastinae". Ichthyological Bulletin, Department of Ichthyology, Rhodes University (5): 75–87.
  5. Matsunuma, M. and H. Motomura (2014). "Pterois paucispinula, a new species of lionfish (Scorpaenidae: Pteroinae) from the western Pacific Ocean". Ichthyological Research. 62 (3): 327–346. doi:10.1007/s10228-014-0451-6.
  6. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (2 October 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 9): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Family Scorpaenidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  7. "Pterois mombasae". Fishes of the Andaman Sea. Retrieved 8 March 2022.

External links

Taxon identifiers
Pterois mombasae
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