Helicolenus dactylopterus Was first formally described in 1809 as Scorpaena dactyloptera by the GenevannaturalistFrançois-Étienne de La Roche with the type locality given as Ibiza in the Balearic Islands.[4] When George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean described the genusHelicolenus in 1896 they designated this species as its type species.[5] The specific name is a compound of dactylos which means "finger" and pterus meaning "finned", an allusion to the lower rays of the pectoral fin, which have tendril-like tips which extend beyond the fin membrane.[6]
Blackbelly rosefish is a robust fish, with a large head and the spination described for the genus, and without tabs or tentacles. The profile of the nape is relatively steeply inclined. It has villiform teeth on both jaws and its large mouth is dark colored inside.
The dorsal fin has 11 to 13 spines (usually 12) and 10 to 14 rays (usually 11–13); the anal fin has 3 spines and 5 rays; and the pectoral fin has between 17 and 20 rays.
They have 55 to 80 vertical rows of ctenoid scales and their lateral line has tubular scales; the chest, cheek and maxilla are usually scaled but the snout and ventral part of the head are naked. They usually have 25 vertebrae. Gill rakers are well developed: 7 to 9 on the upper arch, 16 to 21 on the lower arch.
Their colour is variable. The back and sides are red and the belly is pink, with 5 to 6 dark bands below anterior, middle and posterior dorsal spines: below the soft dorsal rays and at the base of the caudal fin; a Y-shaped dark bar between the soft dorsal and anal fin; and usually a dark blotch on the posterior part of the spinous dorsal fin.[2][11]
As with other species of scorpionfish, the spines of the blackbelly rosefish contain toxic venom and have reportedly caused injuries to humans.[12] However, there has been little research on the venom produced by this species.[12]
Reproduction
Blackbelly rosefish have intraovarian gestation. Fertilization is internal,[2][13][14] as free spermatozoa were found primarily in resting ovaries from July through early December, with peak occurrence in September through November in the Western Atlantic. There was a delay of 1–3 months before fertilization, as oocyte development did not begin until December.[2] Occurrence during January through April of early-celled embryos, the most advanced stage observed, and postovulatory follicles indicated that oocyte development was rapid.[2][15] The females can store sperm within their ovaries that allows them to spawn multiple batches of embryos, which are enclosed within a gelatinous matrix secreted into the ovarian cavity.[2][16][17] This species has a zygoparous form of oviparity, which occupies an intermediate position between oviparity and viviparity.[2][15]Larvae and juveniles are pelagic.[2]
The blackbelly rosefish is the most commercial scorpionfish species in the Mediterranean.[3] Although there has been little commercial interest in this species, partially due to its low level of accessibility, it is currently growing as new resources need to be found by fishing fleets due to the depletion of traditional resources.[9]
^ abcdRibas, David; Muñoz, Marta; Casadevall, Margarida; Gil de Sola, Luis (2006). "How does the northern Mediterranean population of Helicolenus dactylopterus dactylopterus resist fishing pressure?". Fisheries Research. 79 (3): 285–293. Bibcode:2006FishR..79..285R. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2006.03.022.
^Sequeira, Vera; Gordo, Leonel Serrano; Neves, Ana; Paiva, Rafaela B.; Cabral, Henrique N.; Marques, Joana F. (2010). "Macroparasites as biological tags for stock identification of the bluemouth, Helicolenus dactylopterus (Delaroche, 1809) in Portuguese waters". Fisheries Research. 106 (3): 321–328. Bibcode:2010FishR.106..321S. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2010.08.014.
^Massutı́, Enric; Morales-Nin, Beatriz; Moranta, Joan (2000). "Age and growth of blue-mouth, Helicolenus dactylopterus (Osteichthyes: Scorpaenidae), in the western Mediterranean". Fisheries Research. 46 (1–3): 165–176. Bibcode:2000FishR..46..165M. doi:10.1016/S0165-7836(00)00143-0.
^ abcdefRodríguez-Mendoza, Rebeca; Muñoz, Marta; Saborido-Rey, Fran (2011). "Ontogenetic allometry of the bluemouth, Helicolenus dactylopterus dactylopterus (Teleostei: Scorpaenidae), in the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean based on geometric morphometrics". Hydrobiologia. 670 (1): 5–22. Bibcode:2011HyBio.670....5R. doi:10.1007/s10750-011-0675-7. hdl:10261/44746.
^ abKrug, H., Mendonça, A., Estâcio, S., Menezes, G., Pinho, M. 2000. Age, growth and reproduction of six demersal species in the Azores. ICES study group on the Biology and Assessment of Deep-Sea Fisheries Resources. 7 pp.
^ abcAbecasis, D., (2003) Age and growth of Helicolenus dactylopterus (Delaroche, 1809), in the Azorean waters.
^ abMuñoz, M.; Casadevall, M.; Bonet, S. (2002). "Gametogenesis of Helicolenus dactylopterus dactylopterus (Teleostei, Scorpaenidae)". Sarsia. 87 (2): 119–127. doi:10.1080/003648202320205193.
^Vila, S., Sàbat, M., Hernandez, M. R., Muñoz, M. (2007), Intraovarian sperm storage in Helicolenus dactylopterus dactylopterus: Fertilization, Crypt formation and Maintenance of stored sperm. The Raffles Bulletin Of Zoology, 14: 21-27.
^Muñoz, M.; Dimitriadis, C.; Casadevall, M.; Vila, S.; Delgado, E.; Lloret, J.; Saborido-Rey, F. (2010). "Female reproductive biology of the bluemouth Helicolenus dactylopterus dactylopterus: spawning and fecundity". Journal of Fish Biology. 77 (10): 2423–2442. Bibcode:2010JFBio..77.2423M. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2010.02835.x. hdl:10256/15957.
^Eschemeyer, W. N., 1969. A systematic review of the Scorpion fishes of the Atlantic Ocean (Pisces: Scorpanidae). Occ. Papers Calif. Acad. Sci. 79, 1–130.
^Barsukov, V. V., 1980. Subspecies of the Atlantic blackbelly rosefish Helicolenus dactylopterus (Dela Roche, 1809). J. Ichthyol. 19, 1–17.
^Hureau, J. C., Litvinenko, N. I. 1986. Scorpaenidae. In Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, Vol. 3, (eds. Whitehead, P. J. P., Bauchout, M. L., Hureau, J. C., Nielsen, J., Tortonese, E.) UNESCO, Paris, pp. 1211-1229.
^Moranta, Joan; Massutı́, Enric; Morales-Nin, Beatriz (2000). "Fish catch composition of the deep-sea decapod crustacean fisheries in the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean)". Fisheries Research. 45 (3): 253–264. Bibcode:2000FishR..45..253M. doi:10.1016/S0165-7836(99)00119-8.
^Sanchez, P.; M. Demestre; P. Martín (2004). "Characterisation of the discards generated by bottom trawling in the northwestern Mediterranean". Fisheries Research. 67 (1): 71–80. Bibcode:2004FishR..67...71S. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2003.08.004.