Pontinus nigropunctatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Scorpaenidae
Genus: Pontinus
Species:
P. nigropunctatus
Binomial name
Pontinus nigropunctatus
(Günther, 1868)
Synonyms
  • Sebastes nigropunctatus Günther, 1868

Pontinus nigropunctatus, the deepwater jack or St. Helena deepwater scorpionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

Taxonomy

Pontinus nigropunctatus was first formally described as Sebastes nigropunctatus by the German-born British ichthyologist Albert Günther with St Helena given as the type locality.[2] The specific name nigropunctatus means “black spotted”, an allusion to the many dusky spots on its reddish body.[3]

Description

Pontinus nigropunctatus has a reddish-rose coloured body with the upper body being marked with numerous blackish-brown spots.[3] The maximum recorded total length for this fish is 35 cm (14 in).[4]

Distribution and habitat

Pontinus nigropunctatus was thought to be a species which was endemic to St Helena but it has also been found at the Bonaparte Seamount, the Grattan Seamount,[1] Ascension Island,[5] and the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago of Brazil.[6] It is a deepwater species with a depth range of 146 to 183 m (479 to 600 ft)[4] which occurs over hard substrates.[1]

Biology

Pontinus nigropunctatus has been found to have a sex ration of 1.8 males for each female. The females carried an average of 49,544 oocytes, with the larger fishes have a greater number of oocytes. The deepwater jack may develop its oocytes asynchronously.[7]

Fisheries

Pontinus nigropunctatus is not a frequent quarry for fishermen despite its palatable, soft white flesh.[1]

Conservation status

Pontinus nigropunctatus wasassessed by the IUCN as Vulnerable in 1996 , the assessment was based on its restricted range as it was understood to be endmeic to St Helena, later diiscovery of its wider distribution has led to its status changing to Least Concern.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Pearce-Kelly, P.; de Bruyne, G.; Carpenter, K.E.; Smith-Vaniz, W.F. (2015). "Pontinus nigropunctatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T17977A60812482. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T17977A60812482.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Pontinus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  3. 1 2 Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (2 October 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 9): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Family Scorpaenidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2021). "Pontinus nigropunctatus" in FishBase. August 2021 version.
  5. ↑ Wirtz, Peter; Bingeman, Jane; Bingeman, John; et al. (2017). "The fishes of Ascension Island, central Atlantic Ocean - new records and an annotated checklist". Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK. 97: 783–798. doi:10.1080/00222939300770241.
  6. ↑ Teodoro Vaske Júnior; Kaio Lopes de Lima; Aurelyanna C.B. Ribeiro & Rosalenga Paula Lessa (2008). "Record of the St. Helena deepwater scorpionfish, Pontinus nigropunctatus (Günther) (Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae), in the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, Brazil" (PDF). Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences. 3 (1): 46–48.
  7. ↑ Barboza, Mariane Gomes (2019). Reproductive biology of Pontinus nigropunctatus (Teleostei: Scorpaenidae), in the archipelago of São Pedro and São Paulo (Bachelors) (in Portuguese). Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Recife.
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