Glyptauchen

Glyptauchen is a monotypic genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Tetraroginae, the waspfishes. The only species in the genus is the goblinfish (Glyptauchen panduratus), also known as the saddlehead or saddlehead goblinfish which is endemic to the southern coasts of Australia. The goblinfish has venomous spines in its fins.

Glyptauchen
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Scorpaenidae
Subfamily: Tetraroginae
Genus: Glyptauchen
Günther, 1860
Species:
G. panduratus
Binomial name
Glyptauchen panduratus
Synonyms[1]
  • Apistes panduratus Richardson, 1850
  • Glyptauchen insidiator Whitley, 1931
Goblinfish Glyptauchen panduratus (Richardson 1850), from lateral and head from dorsal

Taxonomy

Glyptauchen was first formally described as a genus in 1860 by the German-born British ichthyologist Albert Günther with Apistus panduratus as its type species by monotypy.[2] Apistus panduratus was first formally described in 1850 by the Scottish naval surgeon, Arctic explorer and naturalist John Richardson with the type locality given as King George Sound in Western Australia.[3] This taxon is included in the subfamily Tetraroginae within the Scorpaenidae in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World[4] however other authorities place that subfamily within the stonefish family Synanceiidae,[2] while other authorities classify this subfamily as a family in its own right.[1] The genus name is a compound of glyptos, which means "engraved", and auchen, meaning nape, this is assumed to be an allusion to the deep saddle-like mark on the head. The specific name panduratus means "shaped like a fiddle", presumablyt a reference to the bulbous head.[5]

Description

The fish has an elongated, compressed body with a distinctive rounded to squarish head, with a 'neck', or notch, between the eyes and dorsal fin. A large erectile spine occurs on each side below the eyes which are ringed with red, and are the most visible part of the fish. The fins are well developed, the spinous part of dorsal fin is very long and fairly high, and the pectorals are long and wide and may be spread to the sides like fans. The colouration is cryptic, and is variable from white to grey, reddish-brown, and black. The fish can rapidly adjust its colouration to blend in with the environment.[6] A dark band may be seen across the rear part of the body, with a caudal peduncle and posterior of dorsal and anal fins pale. Whitish patches and small black spots may be scattered on body and fins.[7]

The goblinfish has venomous dorsal spines.[6]

Behaviour

The fish is a bottom dweller, generally nocturnal, and does not move around much during the day, so it is not seen very often by divers.[8]

Habitat and distribution

It is found in sheltered and moderately exposed coastal reef and rocky areas in estuaries between 3 and 60 m deep[8][6] near Rottnest Island, Western Australia, to Sydney, New South Wales, and around Tasmania.[8]

References
  1. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2022). "Glyptauchen panduratus" in FishBase. February 2022 version.
  2. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Tetraroginae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  3. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Glyptauchen". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  4. 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.
  5. 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 20 March 2022.
  6. "Goblinfish, Glyptauchen panduratus (Richardson, 1850)". Australian Museum. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  7. Bray, D.J. & Gomon, M.F., 2011, Goblinfish, Glyptauchen panduratus, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 29 Jul 2014, http://portphillipmarinelife.net.au/species/6492
  8. Edgar, Graham J. (2008). Australian Marine Life: The plants and animals of temperate waters (Second ed.). Sydney: New Holland. ISBN 9781921517174.
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