Armorhead

Armorheads
Longfin boarfish, Zaclistius elevatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Pentacerotidae
Genera
Evistias Histiopterus Parazanclistius Paristiopterus Pentaceropsis Pentaceros Pseudopentaceros Zanclistius See text for species.
Synonyms
Histiopteridae

The Armorheads are a small family, Pentacerotidae, of fishes in the order Perciformes. They are native to the Indian Ocean, western and central Pacific, and southwestern Atlantic. They are generally found at rocky reefs below normal Scuba diving depths, although several species occur in low densities at shallower depths.

Their name, from Greek pente meaning "five" and keras meaning "horn", refers to the prominent sharp spines in their dorsal fin (though these do not number five in all species). The largest species in the family (Paristiopterus) may reach a length of 1 metre (3.3 ft). Many species have distinct dark and light striped bodies, while others are overall dusky-silvery.

Species

• Genus Evistias Jordan, 1907
  • Striped boarfish, Evistias acutirostris (Temminck and Schlegel, 1844)
• Genus Histiopterus Temminck and Schlegel, 1844
  • Sailfin armourhead, Histiopterus typus Temminck and Schlegel, 1844
• Genus Parazanclistius Hardy, 1983
  • Short boarfish, Parazanclistius hutchinsi Hardy, 1983
• Genus Paristiopterus Bleeker, 1876
  • Yellowspotted boarfish, Paristiopterus gallipavo Whitley, 1944
  • Giant boarfish or common boarfish or sowfish, Paristiopterus labiosus (Günther, 1872)
• Genus Pentaceropsis Steindachner in Steindachner and Döderlein, 1883
  • Longsnout boarfish, Pentaceropsis recurvirostris (Richardson, 1845)
• Genus Pentaceros Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829
  • Cape armourhead, Pentaceros capensis Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829
  • Bigspined boarfish, Pentaceros decacanthus Günther, 1859
  • Japanese armorhead or Japanese boarfish, Pentaceros japonicus Steindachner, 1883
  • Pentaceros quinquespinis Parin and Kotlyar, 1988
• Genus Pseudopentaceros Bleeker, 1876
  • Pelagic armorhead, Pelagic armourhead, Richardson's boarfish, Southern boarfish, Pseudopentaceros richardsoni (Smith, 1844)
  • Slender armorhead, Pseudopentaceros wheeleri Hardy, 1983
• Genus Zanclistius Jordan, 1907
  • Longfin boarfish, Zanclistius elevatus (Ramsay and Ogilby, 1888)

References

• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Pentacerotidae" in FishBase. January 2006 version.