Red Irish lord

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Red Irish lord
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Agonidae
Genus: Hemilepidotus
Species:
H. hemilepidotus
Binomial name
Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus
(Tilesius, 1811)[1]
Synonyms
  • Cottus hemilepidotus Tilesius, 1811
  • Cottus trachurus Pallas, 1814
  • Hemilepidotus trachurus (Pallas, 1814)

The red Irish lord (Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus) is a species of marine

mottling, that is generally around 30 cm (12 in) long, though specimens can grow to up to 51 cm (20 in) in length.[2] German naturalist Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius formally described
it in 1811. Carnivorous, it hides camouflaged among rocks on the ocean floor and lashes out to seize its prey—crabs, fish and shrimp.

Taxonomy

German naturalist

Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius formally described the red Irish lord in 1811 as Cottus hemilepidotus,[1] from material collected off Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the Kamchatka Peninsula.[3] The species (and genus) name is derived from the Ancient Greek words hemi "half", lepis "scale", and ous, otis "ear".[2] The genus was erected in 1829 by French zoologist Georges Cuvier in the second edition of his work Le Règne Animal.[4] Prussian naturalist Peter Simon Pallas described the same species as Cottus trachurus in 1814.[2] No subspecies are recognised and there is little geographic variation across its range.[3]

Description

The red Irish lord grows to an average length of about 30 cm (12 in),

mottling. It is generally darker above and paler to almost white below. Spotting and mottling is more prominent in larger fish, and always visible on specimens over 6 cm (2.4 in) long. The pectoral and anal fins are mottled. The pelvic fins are pale, but are spotted or dark in large males.[3] It can also change color to blend in with its surroundings.[5]

The similar brown Irish lord has a dorsal band that is 6–8 (rather than 4–5) scales wide, while the yellow Irish lord has more slender cirri.[8]

Distribution and habitat

The red Irish lord lives in

temperate, demersal marine environments between 66°N and 34°N. They are found mostly along the coastal waters of the Northern Pacific Ocean, from the Bering Sea in Russia, to Alaska, to the Western coast of the U.S. as far as Monterey Bay in California, although rare that far south.[3] Red Irish lords are sculpins, and therefore benthic, bottom-dwelling fish that inhabit mostly shallow waters, but can live at deeper depths. They prefer a coastal, rocky habitat in reefs and shallow areas in the intertidal zone up to about 50 m (160 ft) in depth,[7] but their distribution can range all the way up to 450 m (1,500 ft).[2] Their hunting strategy and camouflaged coloration lend themselves to hiding at the sea floor among sand, rocks and other marine life, while waiting to ambush prey. They are not harmful to humans.[2]

Diet and behavior

The red Irish lord is a carnivorous ambush predator, using its camouflage to blend in with the ocean floor, where it sits motionless and waits to strike at passing prey. Living mostly on the bottom, its main food sources are crabs, small fish, shrimp, mussels, and barnacles.[2] Like many other sculpins, it tends to hide within rock crevices, strike out for food and quickly resume its position. They are typically discarded by commercial fisheries.[5]

The red Irish lord is preyed upon by the North American river otter.[9]

Life cycle

Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus is a non-migratory species. Its life cycle consists of five stages of development: egg, larvae, pre-juvenile, juvenile, and the adult stage.[3] While the red Irish lord exhibits primarily maternal guarding of young, males have been shown to build and guard nests into which the females then lay eggs.[5] The eggs are laid in a mass between October and January, the guarding fish retreating with low tide.[10] Juveniles typically live in tide pools for some period of time.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Tilesius, W. G. von 1811 Piscium Camtschaticorum descriptiones et icones. Mémoires de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de St. Petersbourg v. 3: 225–285 [263–70][1], Pls. 8–13.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2008). "Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus" in FishBase. December 2008 version.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Peden, Alexander Edward (1964). A systematic revision of the Hemilepidotinae, a subfamily of cottid fishes (Thesis). University of British Columbia.
  4. ^ Cuvier, Georges (1829). Le règne animal distribué d'après son organisation, pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction à l'anatomie comparée (in French). Paris: Chez Déterville. p. 165.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Red Irish lord • Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus". Biodiversity of the Central Coast. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  6. ^ Tokranov; Orlov; Sheiko (2003). "Brief review of the genera Hemilepidotus and Melletes (Cottidae) and some traits of the biology of a new species for Russia Hemilepidotus zapus from Pacific waters of the northern Kurils". Journal of Ichthyology. 43: 333–349 – via Researchgate.
  7. ^ a b "Encyclopedia of Life". eol.org. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  8. ISBN 0-618-00212-X
    .
  9. JSTOR 3801818
    .
  10. ISBN 9780080534930
    .
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