Stargazing stonefish

{{Short description|Genus of fishes}} {{Speciesbox | image = FMIB 52117 Trachicephalus uranoscopus Family Scoirpaenidae From Swatow, China 2.jpeg | image_caption = | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name = iucn>{{cite iucn |author=Motomura, H. |author2=Matsuura, K. |author3=Khan, M. |name-list-style = & |year=2018 |title=Trachicephalus uranoscopus |article-number=e.T114180108A116392329 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T114180108A116392329.en |access-date=19 April 2022}}</ref> | parent_authority = Swainson, 1839 | display_parents = 3 | taxon = Trachicephalus uranoscopus | authority = (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) | synonyms = {{Specieslist |Synanceia uranoscopa|Bloch & Schneider, 1801 |Polycaulus uranoscopus|(Bloch & Schneider, 1801) }} | synonyms_ref = <ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase|Trachicephalus|uranscopus|month= February|year=2022}}</ref> }} The '''stargazing stonefish''' ('''''Trachicephalus uranoscopus''''') is a species of stonefish native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean where it is found on muddy bottoms in estuaries. This venomous species is also a minor component of local commercial fisheries. This species grows to a length of {{convert|8|cm|in}} SL. This species is the only known member of the genus '''''Trachicephalus'''''.

==Taxonomy== The stargazing stonefish was first formally described in 1801 as ''Synanceia uranoscopa'' by the German naturalists Marcus Elieser Bloch and Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider with the type locality given as Tranquebar in India.<ref name = CofF>{{Cof genus | genus = Trachicephalus | access-date = 19 April 2022}}</ref> In 1839 William Swainson placed ''S. uranscopa'' in the new monotypic genus ''Trachicephalus''.<ref name = CofF2>{{Cof family | family = Synanceiinae | access-date = 19 April 2022}}</ref> The genus ''Trachicephalus'' is classified within the tribe Synanceiini which is one of three tribes in the subfamily Synanceeinae 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> However, other authorities regard Synanceiidae as a valid family and the Synanceiini as the subfamily Synanceiinae.<ref name = CofF2/> The genus name combines ''Trachinus'', the weeverfish genus with ''cephalus'', which means "head", a reference to the species similarity to those fishes. The specific name ''uranscopus'' means "skywatcher", a reference to the upward directed eyes of this fish.<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 = 10 March 2022 | access-date = 19 April 2022 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}</ref>

==Description== The stargazing stonefish has an elongate body with an upturned, almost vertical mouth.<ref name = Andaman>{{cite web | url = https://www.kahaku.go.jp/research/db/zoology/Fishes_of_Andaman_Sea/contents/scorpaenidae/18.html | title = ''Trachicephalus uranoscopus'' (Bloch, 1801) Stargazing Stonefish | access-date = 19 April 2022 | website = Fishes of the Andaman Sea}}</ref> The upwards directed eyes are on the dorsal surface of the depressed head which has no deep pits.<ref name = Eschmeyer1973>{{cite journal | author1 = Eschmeyer, W. N. | author2 = K. V. Rama-Rao |name-list-style =and |year=1973 |title=Two new stonefishes (Pisces, Scorpaenidae) from the Indo-West Pacific, with a synopsis of the subfamily Synanceiinae |journal=Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences |series=Series 4 |volume=39|issue = 18|pages=337–382 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15773985#page/355/mode/1up}}</ref> There are weakly developed spines on the head with 2 or 3 short spines on the lacrimal boneand there are 4 blunt spines on the preoperculum.<ref name = Andaman/> The dorsal fin has 11-13 spines and 12-14 soft rays while the anal fin has 2 spines and 12-15 soft rays.<ref name = Fishbase/> The pectoral fin has 14-15 fin rays with the lower rays not being separated from the upper rays.<ref name = Eschmeyer1973/> All of the soft fin rays are simple, i.e. not branched.There are teeth on the jaws and the vomer, but no teeth on the palatines. There is and indistinct lateral line,<ref name = Andaman/> which sits high on the body.<ref name = Eschmeyer1973/> The head, body and fins are greyish to blackish in colour, marked with ill-defined whitish spots or blotches scattered on the sides and the pectoral and caudal fins, as well as on the base of the anal fin. The outer margins of the soft-rayed parts of the dorsal and anal fins are yellowish white and the rear margin of the caudal fin is white.<ref name = Andaman/> The maximum recorded total length of this species is {{cvt|10|cm}}.<ref name = Fishbase/>

==Distribution and habitat== The stargazing stonefish has a distribution which extends from India eastward through the Strait of Malacca, then northward along the eastern coasts of Malaysia and Thailand to Hong Kong and southern China. It has also been reported to extend east into Indonesia and eastern Australia.<ref name = iucn/> This demersal species is found in shallow waters at depths between {{cvt|2|and|25|m}} on muddy and sandy substrates in estuarine and coastal waters.<ref name = Fishbase/>

==Utilisation== The stargazing stonefish is sold locally in fish markets, despite its venomous spines.<ref name = iucn/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Synanceiini Category:Fish described in 1801  Category:Taxa named by William Swainson Category:Taxa named by Marcus Elieser Bloch Category:Taxa named by Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider