Red velvetfish

Red velvetfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Scorpaeniformes
Family:	Gnathanacanthidae T. N. Gill, 1893
Genus:	Gnathanacanthus Bleeker, 1855
Species:	G. goetzeei
Binomial name
Gnathanacanthus goetzeei Bleeker, 1855

The red velvetfish (Gnathanacanthus goetzeei) is a marine scorpaeniform fish of the inshore waters of western and southern Australia. It is the sole member of the family Gnathanacanthidae and genus Gnathanacanthus.

This fish is red all over, and instead of scales, its skin is covered with small tubercles, hence its name. All of its fins (except caudal) are large and spined, and of its two dorsal fins, the forward one reaches to just above the large eyes. The mouth is also large, and there is also a fleshy pad just above the upper jaw. The operculum has two spines which may be concealed by skin. The fish grows up to 30 cm in length.

Red velvetfish can be found in waters surrounding Australia and are depicted on an Australian postage stamp of 1985. The fish are more active at night, when they hunt crab and octopus on the sea floor. Their spines are venomous, and can inflict painful wounds.

A recent study placed the waspfishes into an expanded stonefish clade (Synanceiidae) because all of these fish have a lachrymal saber that can project a switch-blade-like mechanism out from underneath their eye.^[1][2]

References[]

• "Gnathanacanthus goetzeei". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 30 January 2006.

External links[]

• FishBase info for Gnathanacanthidae
• Photo of red velvetfish at Discovery Bay Marine National Park
• Fishes of Australia : Gnathanacanthus goetzeei

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