{{Short description|Genus of fishes}} {{Automatic_taxobox | image = SetoMK.jpg | image_caption = ''Parapterois heterura'', blackfoot firefish | taxon = Parapterois | authority = Bleeker, 1876<ref name = CofF>{{Cof family | family = Scorpaenidae | access-date = 2 March 2022}}</ref> | type_species = ''Pterois heterura'' | type_species_authority = Bleeker, 1856<ref name = CofF/> | synonyms = * ''Parabrachirus'' <small>Matsubara, 1943</small> | synonyms_ref = <ref name = CofF/> }}
'''''Parapterois''''' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. These fish originate from marine environments in the Indian Ocean or near it. The venomous ''Parapterois heterura'' is occasionally seen as an aquarium fish.
==Taxonomy== ''Parapterois'' was described as a genus in 1876 by the Dutch physician, herpetologist and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker, Bleeker designated ''Pterois heterurus'', which he had described from Ambon Island in 1856, as the type species of the new genus.<ref name = CofF/><ref name = CofF2>{{Cof genus | genus = Parapterois | access-date = 2 March 2022}}</ref> This genus is classified within the tribe Pteroini of the subfamily Scorpaeninae 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/ }}</ref> The genus name is a compound of ''para'' meaning "near" and ''Pterois'', the genus Bleeker originally placed ''P. heterura'' in.<ref name = ETYFish>{{cite web | url = https://etyfish.org/perciformes9/ | title = Order Perciformes (Part 9): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Family Scorpaenidae | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | editor1= Christopher Scharpf | editor2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp |date = 2 October 2021 | access-date = 2 March 2022 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}</ref>
==Species== There are currently two recognized species in this genus:<ref name=fishbase>{{FishBase genus | genus = Parapterois| month = December | year = 2012}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Image !! Scientific name !! Distribution |- |120px || ''Parapterois heterura'' <small>(Bleeker, 1856)</small> (Blackfoot firefish)||southeastern coast of Africa as well as off Japan and in Indonesia |- |120px||''Parapterois macrura'' <small>(Alcock, 1896)</small> || west coast of India |- |} A third species, ''Parapterois nigripinnis'' (Gilchrist, 1904) of the southwestern Indian Ocean, is recognised as valid by the ''Catalog of Fishes''<ref name = CofF2/> but ''FishBase'' treats it as a synonym of ''P. heterura''.<ref name = Fishbase2>{{FishBase|Parapterois|heterura|month=February|year=2022}}</ref>
==Anatomy and appearance== thumb|left|''Parapterois heterura'' resting on the substrate ''Parapterois'' bodies are red and white, and their pectoral fins are expanded. These fish are venomous. However, most specimens are much smaller; larger adults of both species are about 11 centimetres (4 in) in length.<ref name=motomura/>
A number of differences set this genus apart from ''Pterois'', in which ''P. heterura'' was first described to. ''Parapterois'' have more (18–21) pectoral fin rays than ''Pterois'' (12–17), and, in the former, these rays may be branched, while they are never branched in ''Pterois''. ''Parapterois'' have two anal fin spines, while ''Pterois'' have three. Also, as a more obvious trait, the caudal fin of these fish are truncated with longer upper and lower caudal fin rays, while the caudal fin in ''Pterois'' is rounded.<ref name=motomura>{{cite journal|url=http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/43.1/1.pdf|first=Hiroyuki|last=Motomura|title=Morphological Comparison of a Poorly Known Scorpionfish, ''Parapterois macrura'', with a Related Species, ''P. heterura'' (Scorpaenidae: Pteroinae)|journal=Zoological Studies|pages=1–7|year=2004|volume=43|archive-date=2021-11-15|access-date=2007-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115024259/http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/43.1/1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== thumb|''Parapterois heterura'' showing the inner surface of its pectoral fins. ''Parapterois'' are native to the Indian Ocean and the West Pacific Ocean.
==In the aquarium== Despite the popularity of other lionfish, ''Parapterois'' species are only rarely found in the aquarium trade.<ref name=wwm>{{cite web|url=http://www.wetwebmedia.com/lions&rels2.htm|last=Fenner|first=Bob|title=The Scorpionfishes We Call Lions, Family Scorpaenidae, subfamily Pteroinae|accessdate=2007-04-09}}</ref> ''P. heterura'' can be found on certain online marine aquarium fish stores, but is not common.
==References== {{Reflist}}
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Category:Pteroini Category:Parapterois Category:Venomous fish Category:Marine fish genera Category:Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker