Red velvetfish
Encyclopedia
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 fin
s, 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.
Scorpaeniformes
Scorpaeniformes is an order of ray-finned fish, but it has also been called the Scleroparei.They are known as "mail-cheeked" fishes due to their distinguishing characteristic, the suborbital stay: a backwards extension of the third circumorbital bone across the cheek to the preoperculum, to which...
fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
of the inshore waters of western and southern 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...
. It is the sole member of the family Gnathanacanthidae and genus Gnathanacanthus.
This fish is red all over, and instead of scales
Scale (zoology)
In most biological nomenclature, a scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection. In lepidopteran species, scales are plates on the surface of the insect wing, and provide coloration...
, 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 fin
Dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...
s, 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
Operculum (fish)
The operculum of a bony fish is the hard bony flap covering and protecting the gills. In most fish, the rear edge of the operculum roughly marks the division between the head and the body....
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
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...
and are depicted on an Australian postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
of 1985. The fish are more active at night, when they hunt crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
and octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
on the sea floor. Their spines are venomous, and can inflict painful wounds.