Askoldia

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Askoldia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Stichaeidae
Subfamily: Opisthocentrinae
Genus: Askoldia
Pavlenko, 1910
Species:
A. variegata
Binomial name
Askoldia variegata
Pavlenko, 1910
Synonyms

Askoldia is a monotypic genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks and shannies. Its only species is Askoldia variegata which is found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.[1]

Taxonomy[edit]

Askoldia was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1910 by the Russian ichthyologist Mikhail Nikolaevich Pavlenko when he described its only species A. variegatus, with its type locality given as near Askold Island in Peter the Great Bay in the Sea of Japan, Russia.[2][3] The genus is placed in the subfamily Opisthocentrinae within the family Stichaeidae by some authorities,[4] while other classify this taxon as a valid family, Opisthocentridae.[2] Some authorities also recognise two subspecies, the nominate A.v. variegata and A.v. knipowitschi but the validity of this subsepcies is not generally accepted.[4] Askoldia is considered to be closely related to Kasatkia.[5]

Etymology[edit]

Askoldia is named after its type locality, Askold Island. The specific name variegata means "variegated" and is thought to refer to the colour pattern of a green background colour marked with many poorly defined red spots.[6]

Description[edit]

Askoldia has between 57 and 68 spines in the dorsal fin and 2 spines and 38-43 soft rays in the anal fin. The pectoral fins have 20-23 fin rays while the pelvic fins have a single spine and 3 soft rays. It has vomerine teeth and a scaled head. This species attains a maximum standard length pf 45 cm (18 in).[7]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

Askoldia is found in the western North Pacific Ocean from the northern Sea of Okhotsk to the Pacific coast of Hokkaido and in the Sea of Japan to Peter the Great Bay at depths between 1.5 and 100 m (4 ft 11 in and 328 ft 1 in). although it is typically found at depths of less than 60 m (200 ft).[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2022). "Askoldia variegata" in FishBase. February 2022 version.
  2. ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Opisthocentridae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  3. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Askoldia". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Mecklenburg, C. W. and B. A. Sheiko (2004). "Family Stichaeidae Gill 1864 — pricklebacks" (PDF). California Academy of Sciences Annotated Checklists of Fishes. 35.
  5. ^ Posner, Mason & Lavenberg, Robert (1999). "Kasatkia seigeli: A New Species of Stichaeid (Perciformes: Stichaeidae) from California". Copeia. 1999 (4): 1035–1040. doi:10.2307/1447978.
  6. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (4 July 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 11): Suborder Cottoidea: Infraorder Zoarcales: Families: Anarhichadidae, Neozoarcidae, Eulophias, Stichaeidae, Lumpenidae, Ophistocentridae, Pholidae, Ptilichthyidae, Zaproridae, Cryptacanthodidae, Cebidichthyidae, Scytalinidae and Bathymasteridae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  7. ^ Chereshnev, Igor; Radchenko, Olga; and Petrovskaya, Anna (2012). "The taxonomic status and relationships of stichaeid fish of the Opisthocentrus, Pholidapus, and Askoldia Genera (Perciformes: Stichaeidae)". Russian Journal of Marine Biology. 37 (6): 446–457. doi:10.1134/S1063074011060058.