Rhinopias
Genus of fishes
title: "Rhinopias" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["scorpaenini", "rhinopias", "venomous-fish", "marine-fish-genera", "taxa-named-by-theodore-gill"] description: "Genus of fishes" topic_path: "general/scorpaenini" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinopias" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Genus of fishes ::
| image = Rhinopias_frondosa_4.jpg | image_caption = Weedy scorpionfish (Rhinopias frondosa) taken in Indonesia in 2008 | taxon = Rhinopias | authority = T. N. Gill, 1905 | display_parents = 3 | type_species = Scorpaena frondosa | type_species_authority = Günther, 1893 | synonyms = * Peloropsis Gilbert, 1905 | synonyms_ref =
Rhinopias is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. The species in this genus are found in the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Taxonomy
Rhinopiaswas described as a genus in 1905 by the American ichthyologist Theodore Gill, Gill described it as a monotypic genus and designated Scorpaena frondosa as its type species. The genus name is a combination of rhino meaning "snout" and op meaning "eye", an allusion to he upturned snout and raised orbits of R. frondosa with the suffix ias which is used in some Greek names for fishes, for example Xiphias.
Species
There are six recognized species in this genus ::data[format=table]
| Image | Scientific name | Distribution | Common name |
|---|---|---|---|
| [[File:Rhinopias aphanes Lacy scorpionfish Papua New Guinea by Nick Hobgood.jpg | 120px]] | Rhinopias aphanes Eschmeyer, 1973 | Western Pacific |
| Rhinopias argoliba Eschmeyer, Hirosake & T. Abe, 1973 | Sagami Bay, Japan and the Coral Sea | author = Bray, D.J. | |
| Rhinopias cea J. E. Randall & Disalvo, 1997 | Easter Island | Cea's Scorpionfish. | |
| [[File:Rhinopia - yawning.jpg | 120px]] | Rhinopias eschmeyeri Condé, 1977 | Indo-West Pacific |
| [[File:Rhinopias frondosa 5.jpg | 120px]] | Rhinopias frondosa (Günther, 1892) | Indo-West Pacific |
| Rhinopias xenops (C. H. Gilbert, 1905) | Hawaii and the Kii Peninsula, Japan | ||
| :: |
There is some doubt as to whether R. eschmeyeri is a synonym of R. frondosa, with the two possibly being different sexes of a sexually dimorphic single species.
Characteristics
Rhinopias scorpionfishes are distinguished by having 12 spines i their dorsal fins and 3 spines in their anal fins. Their pectoral fins contain 12-18 fin rays with the lower rays being thickened. The soft fin rays of the dorsal and anal fins, as well as the upper fin rays of the pectoral fins, are branched. In adults the head and body are highly compressed with the width of the head being less than that of the body. The body is also very deep, the depth being 38-54% of its standard length. The body has a covering of small cycloid scales. There are teeth on the palatine and there are no interorbital ridges or tympanic spines but they do have upper post-temporal spines. These scorpionfishes vary in size from a maximum recorded total length of 15.3 cm in R. xenops to 25 cm in R. aphanes .
Distribution and habitat
Rhinopias scorpionfishes have an Indo-Pacific distribution from the coast of eastern Africa to Hawaii and Easter Island.
Biology
Rhinopias scorpionfishes are ambush predators that rest on the substrate waiting for crustaceans and smaller fishes to come within the range of their strike. These scorpionfish also frequently shed an outer layer of skin because they are so sedentary that exoparasites and algae can quickly aggregate on their skin, so to solve this issue, the scorpionfish will shed its outer layer of skin, referred to as the cuticle. Rhinopias scorpionfishes have venom in their fin spines.
Utilization
Rhinopias scorpionfishes command a high price in the aquarium trade.
References
References
- {{Cof family
- ''Scorpaena frondosa'' had originally been [[Species description. described]] in 1893 by the German-born British [[zoologist]] [[Albert Günther]] with its [[Type locality (biology)
- (2 October 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 9): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Family Scorpaenidae". Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara.
- {{FishBase genus. (2021)
- Bray, D.J.. (2021). "''Rhinopias argoliba''". Museums Victoria}}.
- Bray, D.J.. (2018). "''Rhinopias frondosa''". Museums Victoria.
- (2006). "Validity of the Poorly Known Scorpionfish, ''Rhinopias eschmeyeri'', with Redescriptions of ''R. frondosa'' and ''R. aphanes'' (Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae)". Copeia.
- They are demersal fish, found in habitats with soft substrate and strong currents. They can occur in shallow waters down to around {{cvt. 300. Rhinopias. frondosa. (2021)
- Jeremy Gosnell. (August 2010). "Rhinopias Scorpionfish". Tropical Fish Magazine.
- Michael, Scott. (May 2003). "Aquarium Fish: The Rhinopias Spp. – The Ultimate Scorpionfishes".
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