Australian prowfish
| Australian prowfishes | |
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| Pataecus fronto | |
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| Family: | Pataecidae T. N. Gill, 1872
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The Australian prowfishes form a family, Pataecidae, of scorpaeniform fishes. Australian prowfishes are distinguished by a long dorsal fin that begins far forward on the head, forming a "prow" shape, and extends all the way to the caudal fin. They lack scales and pelvic fins.[1]
A recent study placed the waspfishes into an expanded stonefish clade (Synanceiidae) because all of these fish have a lachrymal saber that can project a switch-blade-like mechanism out from underneath their eye [2][3].
References
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 176. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- ^ 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 (April 13, 2018). "Stonefish are already scary, and now scientists have found they have switchblades in their heads". CNN.
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