Apistus

{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{For|a synonym for a genus of moths|Gorgone (moth)}} {{Speciesbox | image = Longfin Waspfish (Apistus carinatus) (14409105561) 2.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name = iucn>{{cite iucn |author=Motomura, H. |author2=Khan, M. |author3=Matsuura, K. |name-list-style = & |year=2018 |title=Apistus carinatus |article-number=e.T46096953A46665114 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T46096953A46665114.en |access-date=15 March 2022}}</ref> | display_parents = 3 | parent_authority = G. Cuvier, 1829 | taxon = Apistus carinatus | authority = (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) | synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true|title=For genus ''Apistus'' | ''Hypodytes'' Gistel, 1848 | ''Parapistus'' Steindachner, 1866 | ''Polemius'' Kaup, 1858 | ''Prosopodasys'' Cantor, 1849 | ''Pterichthys'' Swainson, 1839 }} {{collapsible list|bullets = true|title=For species ''A. carinatus'' | ''Scorpaena carinata'' Bloch & Schneider, 1801 | ''Hypodytes carinatus'' (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) | ''Apistus israelitarum'' Cuvier, 1829 | ''Apistus alatus'' Cuvier, 1829 | ''Apistus evolans'' Jordan & Starks, 1904 | ''Apistus venenans'' Jordan & Starks, 1904 | ''Apistus faurei'' Gilchrist & Thompson, 1908 | ''Apistus balnearum'' Ogilby, 1910 | ''Apistus macrolepidotus'' Ogily, 1910 }} | synonyms_ref = <ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase|Apistus|carinatus|month=February|year=2022}}</ref><ref name = CofF>{{Cof family|family=Apistinaeae|access-date=15 March 2022}}</ref><ref name = CofF2>{{Cof genus|genus=Apistus|access-date=15 March 2022}}</ref> }}

'''''Apistus''''' is a monotypic genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Apistinae, the wasp scorpionfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. Its only species is the '''''Apistus carinatus''''', which has the common names '''ocellated waspfish''', '''bearded waspfish''', '''longfin waspfish''' or '''ringtailed cardinalfish'''. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution. This species has venom-bearing spines in its fins.

==Taxonomy== [[File:Naturalis Biodiversity Center - RMNH.ART.223 - Apistus carinatus (Bloch and Schneider) - Kawahara Keiga - 1823 - 1829 - Siebold Collection - pencil drawing - water colour.jpeg|left|thumb|Illustration (1823–1829) by Kawahara Keiga]]

''Apistus'' was first described as a genus in 1829 by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier. He was describing the species ''Apistus alatus'', which was designated as the type species of the genus ''Apistus'' in 1876 by Pieter Bleeker.<ref name="CofF" /> ''A. alatus'' is a junior synonym of ''A. carinatus'', which had been described by the German naturalists Marcus Elieser Bloch and Johann Gottlob Schneider in 1801 as ''Scorpaena carinata'', with its type locality given as Tranquebar in India.<ref name="CofF2" />

The genus ''Apistus'' is classified within the subfamily Apistinae, within the family Scorpaenidae.<ref name="Nelson5">{{cite book |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |author1=J. S. Nelson |author2=T. C. Grande |author3=M. V. H. Wilson |year=2016 |pages=468–475 |publisher=Wiley |ISBN=978-1-118-34233-6 |url=https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/ |access-date=2022-03-15 |archive-date=2019-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408194051/https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/ }}</ref>

=== Etymology === The genus name, ''Apistus'', means "untrustworthy" or "perfidious", a name Cuvier explained as being due to the long and mobile spines around the eyes, which he described as "very offensive weapons that these fish use when you least expect it". The specific name, ''carinatus'', means "keeled", presumed to be an allusion to the bony ridges on the head.<ref name="ETYFish">{{cite web | url = https://etyfish.org/perciformes10/ | title = Order Perciformes (Part 10): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Families Apistidae, Tetrarogidae, Synanceiidae, Aploacrinidae, Perryenidae, Eschmeyeridae, Pataceidae, Gnathanacanthidae, Congiopodidae and Zanclorhynchidae | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | editor1= Christopher Scharpf | editor2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp |date = 15 March 2022 | access-date = 13 March 2022 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}</ref>

==Description== left|thumb|Specimen

''Apistus carinatus'' has a moderately elongated and compressed body. The lateral surface of the head is armed with a dense covering of bony ridges or keels. The rearmost pectoral fin ray is separate from the rest of the fin.<ref name = mybis>{{cite web | url = https://www.mybis.gov.my/sp/24948 | title = ''Apistus carinatus'' | access-date = 15 March 2022 | work = Malaysia Biodiversity Information System | publisher = Malaysia Biodiversity Centre}}</ref> There are between 14 and 16 spines and between 8 and 10 soft rays in the dorsal fin, with 3 or 4 spines and 6 to 8 soft rays in the anal fin.<ref name = Fishbase/> The overall colour is bluish to pinkish-grey, with a large black ocellus on the rear of the spiny part of the dorsal fin. The long pectoral fins are yellow, and there are sensory barbels on the chin.<ref name = FofA>{{cite web | author = Bray, D.J. | year = 2018 | title = ''Apistus carinatus'' | work = Fishes of Australia | access-date = 15 March 2022 | url = https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3152 | publisher = Museums Victoria}}</ref> The ocellated waspfish attains a maximum total length of {{cvt|20|cm}} but {{cvt|10|cm}} is more typical.<ref name = Fishbase/>

==Distribution and habitat== ''Apistus carinatus'' has a wide distribution in the Indian and Pacific oceans. It occurs from the Red Sea south along the eastern coast of Africa to South Africa, east along the coasts of the Arabian Sea and into the Andaman Sea into the Pacific Ocean as far as the Philippines, north to the Bonin Islands and waters off Kyushu of Japan, and south to Australia.<ref name = iucn/> In Australian waters, this species occurs from Shark Bay in Western Australia around the northern coast and south as far as off Newcastle in New South Wales on the east coast.<ref name = FofA/> This species is a demersal fish which can be found at depths between {{cvt|14|and|16|m}}, although a more typical range is {{cvt|15|to|50|m}},<ref name = Fishbase/> on sandy or silty substrates.<ref name = FofA/>

==Biology== ''Apistus carinatus'' is a nocturnal predator which spends the day buried in the sand, only exposing its eyes. If it is disturbed, the long pectoral fins are spread and their bright yellow colour is used to deter predators. It also uses these fins to corner prey, and the sensitive barbels on the chin are able to detect pret buried in sand or mud. The spines in the dorsal and anal fins bear a venom gland.<ref name = Fishbase/>

==Utilisation== ''Apistus carinatus'' is a small, venomous fish and is of little interest to fisheries, but it is caught in the Persian Gulf in trawl nets and sometimes in seine nets, and in Australia as a bycatch in prawn fisheries.<ref name = iucn/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * http://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3152 * {{sealifephotos|221440}}

Category:Apistinae Category:Monotypic Actinopterygii genera Category:Taxa named by Georges Cuvier Category:Monotypic marine fish genera