Prionotus

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Genus of fishes

title: "Prionotus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["prionotus", "prionotinae", "marine-fish-genera", "taxa-named-by-bernard-germain-de-lacépède"] description: "Genus of fishes" topic_path: "general/prionotus" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prionotus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of fishes ::

| fossil_range = Pliocene - recent, | image = Leopard Searobin, Brunswick County, NC, USA imported from iNaturalist photo 340604048.jpg | image_caption = Leopard searobin (P. scitulus) | taxon = Prionotus | authority = Lacépède, 1801 | type_species = Trigla evolans | type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1766 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text | synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true|title=List | Chriolax D.S. Jordan & Gilbert, 1879 | Colotrigla Gill, 1905 | Dinichthys Kaup, 1873 | Exolissus D.S. Jordan, 1923 | Fissala Gill, 1905 | Gurnardus D.S. Jordan & Evermann, 1898 | Marubecula Whitley, 1950 | Merulinus D.S. Jordan & Evermann, 1898 | Ornichthys Swainson, 1839 | Triscurrichthys Whitley, 1931 | synonyms_ref =

Prionotus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triglidae, one of two genera belonging to the subfamily Prionotinae, the searobins. These fishes are found in the Western Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific Ocean, in the waters off the Americas.

Taxonomy

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Striped_Searobin,_Queens_County,_Queens,_NY,USA_imported_from_iNaturalist_photo_425751721(cropped).jpg" caption="P. evolans]]'', the type species"] ::

Prionotus was first described as a genus in 1801 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède, who described it as a monotypic genus with its type species being Trigla evolans, described by Linnaeus in 1766. The genus is one of 2 genera classified within the subfamily Prionotinae, the searobins, in the gurnard family Triglidae.

Etymology

The genus name is a compound of prion; "saw", and notus; "back", as Lacépède saw three free dorsal spines (not encased in the fin's membrane) when he was describing the type species P. evolans but these were probably the result of damage to the specimen.

Species

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Bluewing_Searobin,_Blue_Heron_Bridge,_Riviera_Beach,_FL,_USA_imported_from_iNaturalist_photo_137463360.jpg" caption="P. punctatus]]'')"] ::

There are currently 23 recognized species in this genus:

P. murielae is based on a single holotype and in 2020 it was proposed that this was a juvenile of P. ophyras, and this taxon is treated as a junior synonym of P. ophryas.

Characteristics

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Galapagos_gurnard,_Isabela,_EC-GA,_EC_imported_from_iNaturalist_photo_426721782.jpg" caption="P. pictus]]''"] ::

Prionotus searobins have a large, nearly square and bony head which bears a number of spines and ridges with a wide interorbital space. The mouth is either terminal or slightly inferior with "simple" teeth on the jaws and on the roof of the mouth. There are 2 separate dorsal fins; the first usually possessing 10, sometimes 9 or 11, spines, although the very short rear spines are very difficult to discern. The second dorsal fin has 11 to 13 soft rays. The long pectoral fins extend beyond the middle of the base of the anal fin and contains 13-14 rays within its membrane, and 2-3 enlarged rays at the bottom of the fin that are free, not encased in the membrane. Most of the body is covered in rough scales including the upper rear flap of the operculum over the spine with scales and the nape. The largest species is the common sea robin (P. ruscarius) of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, which has a maximum published total length of 30.5 cm, while the smallest is P. murielae with a maximum published total length of 6 cm.

Distribution and habitat

Prionotus sea robins are found in the tropical and temperate waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean off both North and South America. Fossils of Prionotus have been found in England and along the Atlantic Coast of the United States from Florida to New Jersey.

Biology

Prionotus are able to create "grunting" vocalisations by vibrating the swim bladder using certain muscles; due to resonance within the swim bladder, this sound resembles the croaking of a frog and is likely the origin of the alternative common name of "gurnard", derived from a French word meaning, "to grunt". These fishes are less active in the daylight hours and are mostly nocturnal, using their enlarged separate pectoral fin rays to "walk" along the substrate and detect prey buried in the sand or mud. These rays can manipulate objects and detect prey using chemoreception. The bony, square head can be used to excavate small prey items from the substrate and their rather catholic diet includes crustaceans such as amphipods, cephalopods, gastropods, bivalves, eggs, other fish, and seaweed, with the juveniles eating more copepods. Their sharp spines seem to deter most predators but they are preyed on by some sharks.

During mating season they are known to make a staccato call, different from their typical grunts. They spawn between late spring and early fall, with activity peaking in July and August. They are batch spawners; the females have a few ripe eggs at a time and these are fertilized externally. The pelagic eggs are yellow, and have a diameter of less than 1 millimeter. They take around 60 hours to hatch and there is no parental care. The hatchling larvae are between 2 and in length. The walking rays develop when the larvae reach a length of 150 mm and they attain sexual maturity around 2 or 3 years old, and may live for up to 11 years, though they usually they only live around 8 years.

References

References

  1. {{Cof family
  2. (10 June 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 12): Suborder Triglioidei: Families Triglidae and Peristediidae". Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara.
  3. {{FishBase genus. (2022)
  4. (5 June 2025). "Prionotus pictus, a new endemic species of searobin from the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador (Teleostei: Triglidae).". Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation.
  5. (2020). "''Prionotus murielae'' Mowbray, 1928 is the juvenile of the Bandtail Searobin ''Prionotus ophryas'' (Teleostei: Scorpaeniformes: Triglidae)". Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation.
  6. {{Cof genus
  7. "Genus: Prionotus, Searobins". Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
  8. Stephanie Boyd. (November 2021). "Sea Robins". Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine.
  9. Selden, R. William. (1986). "The Sea-robin ''Prionotus'' (Teleostei: Scorpaeniformes) in the Pleistocene of New Jersey". The Mosasaur.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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