Family PERISTEDIIDAE

Peristeidae

© Copyright Ros Poole

Peristedion picturatum holotype

© Copyright McCulloch 1926

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Introduction

The Peristediidae comprises six genera and more than 30 species of benthic fishes found in outer continental shelf and upper slope waters in tropical and temperate waters in depths of 50-800 m worldwide (Kawai 2008, 2013). Five genera and eight described species have been recorded from Australia. Imamura (1996), Nelson (2006) and Kawai (2008) recognised the family Peristediidae, whereas Richards (1999) and Paxton et al. (2006) included the group in the Triglidae.

Armour gurnards have bodies encased in four rows of heavy spiny plates on each side, a large bony head with spines and ridges, distinct rostral projections on the lachrymal. The lower two rays of the pectoral fin are enlarged and free from the rest of the fin. The mouth is inferior and mandibular, lip and chin and lower jaw barbels are present. Maximum length is 70 cm.

Species from off New Caledonia were treated by del Cerro & Lloris (1997). The family was reviewed by Kawai (2008), who separated Satyrichthys into the genera, Satyrichthys and Scalicus, and Kawai (2013) revised Satyrichthys. The Australian fauna includes a number of undescribed species, and Australian material is currently under study by Peter Last and Toshio Kawai. Several taxa here treated may actually represent undescribed species.

General References

del Cerro, L. & Lloris, D. 1997. Gurnard fishes (Scorpaeniformes, Triglidae) from off New Caledonia, with descriptions of five new species. Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris [1936-1950] 174: 91-127

Eschmeyer, W.N. & Fong, J.D. 2014. Species of Fishes by family/subfamily. Catalog of Fishes. Online version updated 19 May 2014. http://research.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/SpeciesByFamily.asp

Imamura, H. 1996. Phylogeny of the family Platycephalidae and related taxa (Pisces: Scorpaeniformes). Species Diversity 1(2): 123-233

Kawai, T. 2008. Phylogenetic systematics of the family Peristediidae (Teleostei: Actiopterygii). Species Diversity 13: 1-34

Kawai, T. 2013. Revision of the peristediid genus Satyrichthys (Actinopterygii: Teleostei) with the description of a new species, S. milleri sp. nov. Zootaxa 3635(4): 419-438

McCulloch, A.R. 1926. Report on some fishes obtained by the F.I.S. Endeavour on the coasts of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South and South-Western Australia. Part 5. Biological Results of the Fishing Experiments carried on by the F.I.S. Endeavour 1909-1914 5(4): 157-216 figs 1-5 pls 43-56 [fig. 1]

Nelson, J.S. 2006. Fishes of the World. Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 601 pp.

Paxton, J.R., Gates, J.E., Bray, D.J., Gomon, M.F. & Hoese, D.F. 2006. Triglidae. pp. 921-930 in Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & Allen, G.R. Fishes. In, Beesley, P.L. & Wells, A. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 35. Volume 35 Australia : ABRS & CSIRO Publishing Parts 1-3, 2178 pp.

Richards, W.J. 1999. Family Triglidae. pp. 2359-2382 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 pp. 2069-2790.

History of changes