Morwong
Encyclopedia
Morwongs are perciform fishes comprising the family Cheilodactylidae. Most of the almost 30 species are found in temperate and subtropical oceans in the Southern Hemisphere
, but three (Cheilodactylus quadricornis, C. zebra and C. zonatus) are restricted to northwest Pacific off Japan
and China
, and C. vittatus is restricted to Hawaii
. The largest species grow up to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft), but most species only reach around half that length. They feed on small invertebrate
s on the ocean floor. Several species of morwong are commercially harvested as food fish, particularly in Australia
.
Other names for members of the family include butterfish, fingerfin, jackassfish, and moki. Morwongs are also erroneously known as snappers.
Morwong is also used as a name for several unrelated fish found in Australian waters, such as the painted sweetlips, Diagramma pictum.
, as used by FishBase
and California Academy of Sciences
' Catalog of Fishes. This includes several problems: At a higher level, the traditional delimination of this family and Latridae
is based on morphological
differences, but the reliability of these differences has been questioned, and genetics
do not support this treatment either, leading some to suggest that the majority should be in Latridae. Based on this, the only species that should remain in the family Cheilodactylidae are the relatively small Cheilodactylus fasciatus and C. pixi from southern Africa
. This also means that the broader definition of the genus Cheilodactylus (as done in the below list) is polyphyletic. One suggested solution has been to leave about half the species in Cheilodactylus and move the remaining half to Goniistius, but this relatively simple proposal does not take the extreme divergence
of C. fasciatus and C. pixi into account. All other "Cheilodactylus" clearly do not belong with these two in Cheilodactylus and instead appear to belong in several different genera (only one of which is Goniistius), but how many and their exact delimination is not clear at present.
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
, but three (Cheilodactylus quadricornis, C. zebra and C. zonatus) are restricted to northwest Pacific off Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and C. vittatus is restricted to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. The largest species grow up to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft), but most species only reach around half that length. They feed on small invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s on the ocean floor. Several species of morwong are commercially harvested as food fish, particularly in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Other names for members of the family include butterfish, fingerfin, jackassfish, and moki. Morwongs are also erroneously known as snappers.
Morwong is also used as a name for several unrelated fish found in Australian waters, such as the painted sweetlips, Diagramma pictum.
Taxonomy
The below list follows traditional taxonomyTaxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
, as used by FishBase
FishBase
FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish species . It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web...
and California Academy of Sciences
California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is among the largest museums of natural history in the world. The academy began in 1853 as a learned society and still carries out a large amount of original research, with exhibits and education becoming significant endeavors of the museum during the twentieth...
' Catalog of Fishes. This includes several problems: At a higher level, the traditional delimination of this family and Latridae
Latridae
Trumpeters are a family of perciform fishes, Latridae. They are found in southern waters off Australia, New Zealand, and Chile, where they are fished commercially and for sport...
is based on morphological
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
differences, but the reliability of these differences has been questioned, and genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
do not support this treatment either, leading some to suggest that the majority should be in Latridae. Based on this, the only species that should remain in the family Cheilodactylidae are the relatively small Cheilodactylus fasciatus and C. pixi from southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
. This also means that the broader definition of the genus Cheilodactylus (as done in the below list) is polyphyletic. One suggested solution has been to leave about half the species in Cheilodactylus and move the remaining half to Goniistius, but this relatively simple proposal does not take the extreme divergence
Genetic divergence
Genetic divergence is the process in which two or more populations of an ancestral species accumulate independent genetic changes through time, often after the populations have become reproductively isolated for some period of time...
of C. fasciatus and C. pixi into account. All other "Cheilodactylus" clearly do not belong with these two in Cheilodactylus and instead appear to belong in several different genera (only one of which is Goniistius), but how many and their exact delimination is not clear at present.
Species
- Genus Cheilodactylus
- Painted mokiPainted mokiThe painted moki, Cheilodactylus ephippium, is a morwong, a species of fish found off southern Australia, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, and northern New Zealand including the Kermadec Islands, from shallow depths to 250 m, on rocky reef and coastal areas...
, Cheilodactylus ephippium - RedfingersRedfingersThe redfingers, Cheilodactylus fasciatus, is a morwong of the genus Cheilodactylus, found only off the coasts of Namibia and South Africa, in rock pools and from shallow depths to 120 m, on rocky reef areas. Its length is up to 30 cm....
, Cheilodactylus fasciatus - Blacktip morwong, Cheilodactylus francisi
- Red morwongRed morwongThe red morwong, Cheilodactylus fuscus, is a morwong, a species of fish found off southeast Australia and the North Island of New Zealand from shallow depths to 50 m, on rocky reef and coastal areas...
, Cheilodactylus fuscus - Western crested morwong, Cheilodactylus gibbosus
- Magpie perchMagpie perchThe magpie perch or magpie morwong, Cheilodactylus nigripes, is a morwong of the genus Cheilodactylus, found off southern Australia and northern New Zealand from shallow depths to 250 m...
or Magpie morwong, Cheilodactylus nigripes - Barred fingerfinBarred fingerfinThe barred fingerfin is a morwong of the genus Cheilodactylus, found only off the coasts of Namibia and South Africa from shallow depths to 120 metres...
, Cheilodactylus pixi - Plessis's morwong, Cheilodactylus plessisi
- Cheilodactylus quadricornis
- Cheilodactylus rubrolabiatus
- Red mokiRed mokiThe New Zealand red moki or Australian banded morwong, Cheilodactylus spectabilis, is a morwong, a species of fish found off southern Australia and the North Island of New Zealand from depths to 50 m. Its length is up to 60 cm....
, Cheilodactylus spectabilis - Peruvian morwong, Cheilodactylus variegatus
- Crested morwong, Cheilodactylus vestitus
- Hawaiian morwong, Cheilodactylus vittatus
- Redlip morwong, Cheilodactylus zebra
- Spottedtail morwong, Cheilodactylus zonatus
- Painted moki
- Genus Chirodactylus
- Twotone fingerfin, Chirodactylus brachydactylus
- Bank steenbras, Chirodactylus grandis
- Natal fingerfin, Chirodactylus jessicalenorum
- Genus Dactylophora
- Dusky morwong, Dactylophora nigricans
- Genus Nemadactylus
- Nemadactylus bergi
- Blue morwong or PoraePoraeThe porae or blue morwong, Nemadactylus douglasii, is a morwong of the genus Nemadactylus, found around south eastern Australia and the north eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand at depths of about 10 to 100 metres, on sandy and rocky coasts. Its length is between 40 and 100 cm...
, Nemadactylus douglasii - Nemadactylus gayi
- Jackass morwong or TarakihiTarakihiThe tarakihi or jackass morwong, Nemadactylus macropterus, is a morwong of the genus Nemadactylus, found off southern Australia, the Atlantic coast of South America, and New Zealand to depths of about 400 m, on all types of bottoms...
, Nemadactylus macropterus - St. Paul's fingerfinSt. Paul's fingerfinSt. Paul's fingerfin, Nemadactylus monodactylus, is a species of morwong native to the waters around Île Saint-Paul and Île Amsterdam in the Indian Ocean...
, Nemadactylus monodactylus - Sea carp or Queen snapper, Nemadactylus valenciennesi
- Nemadactylus vemae