Plectrogenium

{{Short description|Genus of fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = | image = Plectrogenium nanum.jpg | image_caption = ''P. nanum'' | parent_authority = | taxon = Plectrogenium | authority = C. H. Gilbert, 1905 | type_species = Plectrogenium nanum | type_species_authority = Gilbert, 1905 }}

'''''Plectrogenium''''', is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, the '''stinger flatheads''' in the family Plectrogeniidae. This genus is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

==Taxonomy== ''Plectrogenium'' was originally named as a monotypic genus in 1905 by the American ichthyologist Charles Henry Gilbert when he described what was then considered to be its only species,<ref name = CofF>{{Cof family|family=Plectrogeniidae|access-date=18 April 2022}}</ref> ''Plectrogenium nanum'', from Hawaii.<ref name = CofF2>{{Cof genus|genus=Plectrogenium|access-date=18 April 2022}}</ref> The genus name, ''Plectrogenium'', is a compound of ''plectro'', which means "spur", and ''genys'', which means "cheek"or "chin", an allusion to the lines of robust spines along the sides of the head.<ref name = ETYFish>{{cite web | url = https://etyfish.org/perciformes11/ | title = Order PERCIFORMES: Suborder PLATYCEPHALOIDEI: Families BEMBRIDAE, PARABEMBRIDAE, PLATYCEPHALIDAE, HOPLICHTHYIDAE and PLECTROGENIIDAE | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | editor1= Christopher Scharpf | editor2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp |date = 7 December 2021 | access-date = 18 April 2022 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}</ref>

==Species== The currently recognized species in this genus are:<ref name = CofF/> * ''Plectrogenium barsukovi'' Mandritsa, 1992 * ''Plectrogenium capricornis'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021 * ''Plectrogenium kamoharai'' Uesaka, Yamakawa, Matsunuma & Endo, 2021 * ''Plectrogenium kanayamai'' Uesaka, Yamakawa, Matsunuma & Endo, 2021 * ''Plectrogenium longipinnis'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021 * ''Plectrogenium megalops'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021 * ''Plectrogenium nanum'' C. H. Gilbert, 1905 * ''Plectrogenium occidentalise'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021 * ''Plectrogenium rubricauda'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021 * ''Plectrogenium serratum'' Matsunuma, Uesaka, Yamakawa & Endo, 2021

==Characteristics== ''Plectrogenium'' is characterised by having a laterally compressed body with a number of spines and ridges on the head. There are venom glands on the spines in the dorsal, anal and pelvic fins.<ref name = Fishbase>{{cite web | url = https://www.fishbase.se/Summary/FamilySummary.php?ID=579 | title = Family Plectrogeniidae - Stinger flatheads | access-date = 18 April 2022 | editor1 = Froese, Rainer | editor2 = Pauly, Daniel | date = February 2022 | website = FishBase}}</ref> The dorsal fin typically has 12 spines and 71/2 soft rays, the dorsal fin is split into 2 fins with 2 spines in the anterior part of the second dorsal fin. There are between 22 and 25 rays in the pectoral fins and they have 30-35 vertical rows of ctenoid scales on the body. There are flattened spines on the suborbital ridge which resembles that of the Platycephalidae. The mouth is positioned ventrally.<ref name= Eschmeyer1975>{{cite journal | author1 = William N. Eschmeyer | author2 = John E. Randall |name-list-style = and | year = 1975 | title = The Scorpaenid Fishes of the Hawaiian Islands Including New Species and New Records (Pisces:Scorpaenidae) | journal = Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences |series=Series 4| volume = 40 | issue = 11 | pages = 265–334 | url = https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15774513#page/275/mode/1up}}</ref> They are small fishes with standard lengths of less than {{cvt|10|cm}}<ref name = Fishbase2>{{FishBase genus|genus=Plectrogenium|month=February|year=2022}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat== ''Plectrogenium'' is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans from Madagascar to Hawaii.<ref name = Matsunuma2021>{{cite journal | author1 = Matsunuma, M. | author2 = Uesaka, K. | author3 = Yamakawa, T. | author4 = Hiromitsu Endo | name-list-style = & | title = Review of the Indo-Pacific scorpaenoid genus ''Plectrogenium'' Gilbert 1905 (Plectrogeniidae) with descriptions of eight new species | journal = Ichthyological Research | date = 2022 | volume = 69 | issue = 3 | pages = 299–351 | doi = 10.1007/s10228-021-00844-z | bibcode = 2022IchtR..69..299M }}</ref> They are bathydemersal fishes which are found at depths greater than {{cvt|250|m}}.<ref name = Fishbase/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Scorpaenidae Category:Marine fish genera Category:Taxa named by Charles Henry Gilbert