Daruma stinger
The daruma stinger (Dampierosa daruma), also known as the North-western stonefish, is a species of venomous ray-finned fish, a stonefish belonging to the subfamily Synanceiinae of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Dampierosa and is endemic to Australia.
| Daruma stinger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holotype of Dampierosa daruma | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family: | Scorpaenidae |
| Subfamily: | Synanceiinae |
| Tribe: | Synanceiini |
| Genus: | Dampierosa Whitley, 1932 |
| Species: | D. daruma |
| Binomial name | |
| Dampierosa daruma Whitley, 1932 | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Taxonomy
The daruma stinger was first formally described in 1932 by the Australian ichthyologist Gilbert Percy Whitley with the type locality given as off Broome in Western Australia.[2] Whitley described it as the only species in the monotypic genus Dampierosa[3] but it has also been considered to be a member of the genus Erosa together with the pitted stonefish (E. erosa).[4] The genus Dampierosa is classified within the tribe Synanceiini which is one of three tribes in the subfamily Synanceeinae within the family Scorpaenidae.[5] However, other authorities regard Synanceiidae as a valid family and the Synanceiini as the subfamily Synanceiinae.[3] The genus name is presumed to be a combination of Dampier, the Dampier Peninsula which lies north of Broome and Erosa, the genus it is closely related to. The specific name daruma was not explains but it is likely to be Japanese and to be an allusion to the bulbous head of this species, daruma being applied to squat Buddha figures and to some large-headed fishes.[6]
Description
The daruma stinger has a large smoothly rounded head, with no hump over the eyes and no occipital pit. The pectoral and caudal fins are banded with dark bases, wide white bands in the middle, a dark sub-marginal band and a pale margin. This species has a maximum total length of 13 cm (5.1 in). They have venomous spines in the fins.[4]
Distribution and habitat
The daruma stinger is found off northwestern Australia, it is a benthic species found on inshore reefs in shallow waters down to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) depth.[4][1]
References
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2022). Species of Dampierosa in FishBase. February 2022 version.
- Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Dampierosa". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Synanceiinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- Dianne J. Bray. "Erosa daruma". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 8 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 2022-04-08.
- Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (10 March 2022). "Order Perciformes (Part 10): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Families Apistidae, Tetrarogidae, Synanceiidae, Aploacrinidae, Perryenidae, Eschmeyeridae, Pataceidae, Gnathanacanthidae, Congiopodidae and Zanclorhynchidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 8 April 2022.