Cantherines hippocrepis

Description

Family Monacanthidae

Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Usually two dorsal spines; the second is usually much smaller and it may be absent. Upper jaw usually with three teeth in outer and two in the inner series on each premaxillary , developed for nibbling; 19-31 vertebrae . Alutera scripta reaches 1 m maximum length . Most species feed on a wide variety of benthic invertebrates , but some specialize on corals or zooplankton . Filefishes lay demersal eggs in a site prepared and guarded by the male or both parents. Some of the subtropical species release eggs in open water .The family Monacanthidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes ) and the Order Tetraodontiformes. It contains 31 genera and 95 species. It may be found in Marine environments and is primarily Marine. Some members of this family are used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are mixed. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is balistiform. Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the Pliocene epoch of the Tertiary period. Etymology of this family name : Greek, monos = only + Greek, akantha = thorn

Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota () - Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- Kingdom: Animalia () - Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
  - Subkingdom: Bilateria () - (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
    - Branch: Deuterostomia () - Grobben, 1908
      - Infrakingdom: Chordonia () - (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
        Phylum: Chordata () - Bateson, 1885 - Chordates
        Subphylum: Vertebrata () - Cuvier, 1812 - Vertebrates
        Infraphylum: Gnathostomata () - Auct. - Jawed Vertebrates
        Superclass: Osteichthyes () - Huxley, 1880 - Bony Fishes
        Class: Actinopterygii () - Huxley, 1880 - Ray-Finned Fishes
        Subclass: Actinopterygii () - Ray-Finned Fishes
        Infraclass: Actinopteri ()
        Cohort: Clupeocephala ()
        Superorder: Acanthopterygii ()
        Order: Tetraodontiformes ()
        Suborder: Balistoidei ()
        Family: Monacanthidae () - Filefishes
        Genus: Cantherines ()
        Specific name: hippocrepis - (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824)
        Scientific name: - Cantherines hippocrepis

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Cantherines

There are approximately 13 species in this genus:

C. carolae · C. dumerili · C. hippocrepis · C. macroceros · C. macrurus · C. modestoides · C. modestus · C. nasutus · C. pardalis · C. prasinus · C. pullus · C. sandwichiensis · C. verecundus

More Info

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Notes

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Identifiers

Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 16346326
Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 2053495

Curator for this page: Barry Hutchins. Date last reviewed: 1899-12-30