Cocotropus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, velvetfishes belonging to the family Aploactinidae. The genus is found in the Indian and western Pacific oceans.
| Cocotropus | |
|---|---|
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| (C. roseus) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family: | Aploactinidae |
| Genus: | Cocotropus Kaup, 1858 |
| Type species | |
| Corythobatus echinatus Cantor, 1849
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| Synonyms | |
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Taxonomy
editCocotropus was first described as a genus in 1858 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup as a monotypic genus, the only species classified within it being Corythobatus echinatus, which had been described in 1849 by the Danish zoologist Theodore Cantor from Penang in Malaysia.[1][2] The genus Cocotropus is classified within the family Aploactinidae in the suborder Scorpaenoidei within the order Scorpaeniformes,[3] although this family is also treated as a subfamily of the stonefish family Synanceiidae[4][5] within the Scorpaenoidei, which in turn is treated as a superfamily within the order Perciformes.[6] The name of the genus, Cocotropus was not explained by Kaup but may be a compound of coccum, which means "scarlet", and tropus, meaning "manner" or "way", so a "scarlet fish", however C. echinatus is reddish brown rather than scarlet.[7]
Species
editThere are currently 17 recognized species in this genus:[8][2]
- Cocotropus altipinnis Waite, 1903 (Highfin velvetfish)
- Cocotropus astakhovi Prokofiev, 2010
- Cocotropus aurantius Matsunuma, Sado & Motomura, 2021
- Cocotropus dermacanthus (Bleeker, 1852)
- Cocotropus echinatus (Cantor, 1849)
- Cocotropus eksae Prokofiev, 2010
- Cocotropus izuensis Imamura, Aizawa & G. Shinohara, 2010
- Cocotropus keramaensis Imamura & G. Shinohara, 2003
- Cocotropus larvatus Poss & G. R. Allen, 1987 (Ghost velvetfish)
- Cocotropus masudai Matsubara, 1943
- Cocotropus microps J. W. Johnson, 2004 (Patchwork velvetfish)
- Cocotropus monacanthus (Gilchrist, 1906) (Roughskin scorpionfish)
- Cocotropus possi Imamura & G. Shinohara, 2008
- Cocotropus richeri R. Fricke, 2004
- Cocotropus roseomaculatus Imamura & G. Shinohara, 2004
- Cocotropus roseus F. Day, 1875
- Cocotropus steinitzi Eschmeyer & Dor, 1978
Characteristics
editCocotropus velvetfishes are characterised by the gill membranes not being attached to the isthmus which has fleshy extensions. The anus is just in front of the origin of the anal fin while the dorsal fin is continuous. There are parallel ridges between the eyes. The body is covered in velvety scales.[9] The pelvic fin has a single spine and 3 rays.[10] These are small fishes, the largest is the roughskin scorpionfish (C. monacanthus) which reaches a maximum published total length of 13.1 cm (5.2 in).[8]
Distribution and habitat
editCocotropus velvetfishes are found in the Indo-Pacific region from the eastern coasts of Africa to New Caledonia, north to Japan and south to Australia.[2] They are little know fishes most often found sheltering in crevices, underneath coral rubble, or within coral-lined algal areas on either coral or rock reefs.[9]
References
edit
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Aploactininae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ a b c Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Cocotropus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 468–475. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
- ^ Smith, W. Leo; Smith, Elizabeth; Richardson, Clara (February 2018). "Phylogeny and Taxonomy of Flatheads, Scorpionfishes, Sea Robins, and Stonefishes (Percomorpha: Scorpaeniformes) and the Evolution of the Lachrymal Saber". Copeia. 106 (1): 94–119. doi:10.1643/CG-17-669.
- ^ Willingham, AJ (13 April 2018). "Stonefish are already scary, and now scientists have found they have switchblades in their heads". CNN.
- ^ Ricardo Betancur-R; Edward O. Wiley; Gloria Arratia; et al. (2017). "Phylogenetic classification of bony fishes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17 (162): 162. doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0958-3. PMC 5501477. PMID 28683774.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (10 March 2022). "Order Perciformes (Part 10): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Families Apistidae, Tetrarogidae, Synanceiidae, Aploacrinidae, Perryenidae, Eschmeyeridae, Pataecidae, Gnathanacanthidae, Congiopodidae and Zanclorhynchidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Cocotropus". FishBase. February 2022 version.
- ^ a b Bray, D.J. (2020). "Cocotropus". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ Hisashi Imamura and Gento Shinohara (2004). "A New Species of Cocotropus (Actinopterygii:Teleostei:Aploactinidae) from South Africa, Western Indian Ocean". Species Diversity. 9: 201–205.