Lesser gurnard

Species of fish

Lesser gurnard

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]

Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Actinopterygii
Order:  | Scorpaeniformes
Family:  | Triglidae
Genus:  | Chelidonichthys
Species:  |

C. queketti

Binomial name
Chelidonichthys queketti

(Regan, 1904)

Synonyms[2]

* Trigla queketti Regan, 1904

The lesser gurnard (Chelidonichthys queketti), or Quekket's gurnard, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. This species is found in the southwestern Indian Ocean and marginally in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean. This species is of commercial importance as a food fish.

## Taxonomy[edit]

The lesser gurnard was first formally described in 1904 as Trigla quekketi by the English zoologist Charles Tate Regan with the type locality given as the coast of Natal in South Africa.[3] Within the genus Chelidonichthys this species is classified in the nominate subgenus. The specific name honours John Frederick Whitlie Quekett , a conchologist and the curator of the Durban Natural History Museum who gave the type of this species to the British Museum (Natural History).[4]

## Description[edit]

The lesser gurnard has 9 spines and 18 or 19 soft rays in the dorsal fin while the anal fin has 17 or 18 soft rays.[2] There are 10 or 11 finrays within the pectoral fin membrane and three fin rays which are free of the membrane. There is a large spine on the anterior part of the preorbital and smaller spines behind that which may be covered in skin. The head and upper body are reddish while the lower third of the body and the anal fin are white. The soft trayed dorsal fin and the caudal fin are reddish brown, the pectoral fin is blackish with a pinkish lower third and the pelvic fins are pinkish red with white margins.[5] This species attains a maximum published total length of 35 cm (14 in).[2]

## Distribution and habitat[edit]

The lesser gurnard is found in the southwestern Indian Ocean from Maputo Bay in Mozambique along the coast of South Africa and just into the southeastern Atlantic Ocean at Table Bay in the Western Cape.[1] It can be found at depths between 0 and 150 m (0 and 492 ft) over sediments of many types.[2]

## Biology[edit]

Lesser gurnards can live for up to 7 years.[2] Over much of its range this species can be rare, however, it is thought to be the commonest and most numerous gurnard on the Agulhas Bank.[6] This species is iteroparous, i.e. spawning occurs all year with a peak in the spring and in the late summer months. Females reach sexual maturity at around a year old and a langth of 195 cm (77 in) and males typically out number females. These predatory fish feed on amphipods, brachyurans, polychaetes, echinoderms, crustaceans, molluscs and fishes.[1]

## Fisheries[edit]

Lesser gurnards are caught as bycatch in hake fisheries, although larger specimens may be landed among catches of Cape gurnards (C. capensis). It is too uncommon to be marketed regularly.[1]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Motomura, H.; Matsuura, K. & Khan, M. (2018). "Chelidonichthys queketti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T15623258A15623517. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T15623258A15623517.en. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
2. ^ a b c d e Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2022). "Chelidonichthys quekketi" in FishBase. February 2022 version.
3. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Chelidonichthys". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
4. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (10 June 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 12): Suborder Triglioidei: Families Triglidae and Peristediidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
5. ^ Phillip C. Heemstra (1982). "Taxonomic Notes on Some Triglid and Peristediid Fishes (Pisces: Scorpaeniformes) from Southern Africa". Copeia. 1982 (2): 291–295. doi:10.2307/1444607. JSTOR 1444607.
6. ^ "Gurnard Species: 4 of 9 different ones" (PDF). False Bay Yacht Club. Retrieved 8 June 2022.

## External links[edit]

Wikispecies has information related to Lesser gurnard.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chelidonichthys queketti.

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Extant Triglidae species (Sea robins, gurnard)

Bellator|

* Shortfin searobin (B. brachychir)
* Streamer searobin (B. egretta)
* Bellator farrago
* Naked-belly searobin (B. gymnostethus)
* Barred searobin (B. loxias)
* Horned searobin (B. militaris)
* Bellator ribeiroi
* Splitnose searobin (B. xenisma)

Bovitrigla|

Bovitrigla acanthomoplate

Chelidonichthys|

* Chelidonichthys capensis
* Chelidonichthys cuculus
* Chelidonichthys gabonensis
* Chelidonichthys ischyrus
* Chelidonichthys kumu
* Chelidonichthys lucernus
* Chelidonichthys obscurus
* Chelidonichthys queketti
* Chelidonichthys spinosus
* Chelidonichthys lastoviza

Eutrigla|

Grey gurnard (Eutrigla gurnardus)

Lepidotrigla|

* Lepidotrigla abyssalis
* Lepidotrigla alata
* Lepidotrigla alcocki
* Lepidotrigla annamarae
* Lepidotrigla argus
* Lepidotrigla argyrosoma
* Lepidotrigla bentuviai
* Lepidotrigla bispinosa
* Lepidotrigla brachyoptera
* Lepidotrigla cadmani
* Lepidotrigla calodactyla
* Lepidotrigla carolae
* Lepidotrigla cavillone
* Lepidotrigla deasoni
* Lepidotrigla dieuzeidei
* Lepidotrigla eydouxii
* Lepidotrigla faurei
* Lepidotrigla grandis
* Lepidotrigla guentheri
* Lepidotrigla hime
* Lepidotrigla japonica
* Lepidotrigla jimjoebob
* Lepidotrigla kanagashira
* Lepidotrigla kishinouyi
* Lepidotrigla larsoni
* Lepidotrigla lepidojugulata
* Lepidotrigla longifaciata
* Lepidotrigla longimana
* Lepidotrigla longipinnis
* Lepidotrigla macrobrachia
* Lepidotrigla marisinensis
* Lepidotrigla microptera
* Lepidotrigla modesta
* Lepidotrigla mulhalli
* Lepidotrigla multispinosa
* Lepidotrigla musorstom
* Lepidotrigla nana
* Lepidotrigla oglina
* Lepidotrigla omanensis
* Lepidotrigla papilio
* Lepidotrigla pectoralis
* Lepidotrigla pleuracanthica
* Lepidotrigla punctipectoralis
* Lepidotrigla robinsi
* Lepidotrigla russelli
* Lepidotrigla sayademalha
* Lepidotrigla sereti
* Lepidotrigla spiloptera
* Lepidotrigla spinosa
* Lepidotrigla umbrosa
* Lepidotrigla vanessa
* Lepidotrigla vaubani
* Lepidotrigla venusta

Prionotus|

* Spiny searobin (P. alatus)
* Whitesnout searobin (P. albirostris)
* Bean's searobin (P. beanii)
* Two-beaked searobin (P. birostratus)
* Northern searobin (P. carolinus)
* Striped searobin (P. evolans)
* Bristly searobin (P. horrens)
* Bigeye searobin (P. longispinosus)
* Gulf of Mexico barred searobin (P. martis)
* Galapagos gurnard (P. miles)
* Prionotus murielae
* Red searobin (P. nudigula)
* Bandtail searobin (P. ophryas)
* Mexican searobin (P. paralatus)
* Bluewing searobin (P. punctatus)
* Bluespotted searobin (P. roseus)
* Blackwing searobin (P. rubio)
* Common searobin (P. ruscarius)
* Leopard searobin (P. scitulus)
* Shortwing searobin (P. stearnsi)
* Lumptail searobin (P. stephanophrys)
* Long-ray searobin (P. teaguei)
* Bighead searobin (P. tribulus)

Pterygotrigla|

* Pterygotrigla amaokai
* Pterygotrigla andertoni
* Pterygotrigla arabica
* Pterygotrigla cajorarori
* Pterygotrigla draiggoch
* Pterygotrigla elicryste
* Pterygotrigla gomoni
* Pterygotrigla guezei
* Pterygotrigla hafizi
* Pterygotrigla hemisticta
* Pterygotrigla hoplites
* Pterygotrigla jacad
* Pterygotrigla leptacanthus
* Pterygotrigla macrolepidota
* Pterygotrigla macrorhynchus
* Pterygotrigla megalops
* Pterygotrigla multiocellata
* Pterygotrigla multipunctata
* Pterygotrigla pauli
* Pterygotrigla picta
* Pterygotrigla polyommata
* Pterygotrigla robertsi
* Pterygotrigla ryukyuensis
* Pterygotrigla saumarez
* Pterygotrigla soela
* Pterygotrigla spirai
* Pterygotrigla tagala
* Pterygotrigla urashimai

Trigla|

* Piper gurnard (T. lyra)

Taxon identifiers

Chelidonichthys queketti|

* Wikidata: Q2031732
* BOLD: 86877
* CoL: 69QVL
* FishBase: 7948
* GBIF: 2336790
* iNaturalist: 621912
* IRMNG: 10152861
* ITIS: 643892
* IUCN: 15623258
* NCBI: 1003709
* OBIS: 218121
* Open Tree of Life: 589756
* WoRMS: 218121

Trigla queketti|

* Wikidata: Q106430341
* CoL: 58QK5
* GBIF: 2336792
* IRMNG: 10618150
* ITIS: 167042
* WoRMS: 306585

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