Stonefishes

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Stonefishes
Stonefish, Synanceia verrucosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Scorpaeniformes Family: Synanceiidae Nelson, 1994
Genera and species
See text.

Stonefishes are members of the family Synanceiidae of ray-finned fish, found in the Indo-Pacific oceans. They are primarily marine, though some species are known to live in rivers. Initially, the most prominent genus of the family was named Synanceja (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), and placed in the Scorpaenidae family, thus some sources still classify its genera in that family. Its species are known to have the most potent neurotoxins of all the fish venoms, secreted from glands at the base of their needle-like dorsal fin spines. The vernacular name of the species derives from their behaviour of camouflaging as rocks. The type species of the family is the stonefish, Synanceia verrucosa.

[edit] Genera and species

• Genus Choridactylus
• Genus Erosa
• Genus Inimicus
• Genus Leptosynanceia
• Genus Minous
• Genus Pseudosynanceia
• Genus Synanceia
  • Reef Stonefish, Synanceia verrucosa Bloch & Schneider, 1801
  • Estuary stonefish, Synanceia horrida
  • Red Sea stonefish, Synanceia nana
• Genus Trachicephalus

[edit] External links

• FishBase entry