Neomerinthe hemingwayi
Spinycheek Scorpionfish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Scorpaeniformes (Lionfish, Stonefish and others)
Scorpaenidae (Scorpionfishes)
Neomerinthe
Neomerinthe hemingwayi (Spinycheek Scorpionfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Head is of moderate size and somewhat pointed; eye is less than snout length; teeth are small, pointed, and arranged in narrow bands in jaws, palatine, and vomer; preorbital bone has two spinous points over maxilla; suborbital ridge has three or four spinous points; small nasal, preocular, supraocular, postocular, pterotic, parietal, and nuchal spines are present; preoperculum has 3 to 5 spines; measurements (% SL): head length 42%–48%, snout length 12%–14%, orbit diameter 8%–11%, interorbital width 5%–6%, jaw length 20%–22%, body depth 28%–33%; gill rakers on first arch number 6 or 7 on upper limb and 9 to 12 on lower limb; slit is present behind fourth arch; pectoral fin has 17 rays (rarely 16); dorsal fin has 12 spines and 10 rays (rarely 9); anal fin has 3 spines and 5 rays; scales are ctenoid; vertebrae number 24; gas bladder is present
Reddish brown; back and side are mottled red and brown; dorsal, caudal, and anal fins are spotted; posterior part of lateral line bears three dark spots
Distribution
Western North Atlantic from New Jersey to southern Florida and the Gulf of Mexico
In the Gulf of Mexico, it occurs from Texas to Tampa Bay, FL, Veracruz, and Campeche
Habitat Associations
Between 31 and 230 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 315 mm SL
Have a thick glandular tissue on posterior margin of fin spines which is believed to be venomous (Ref. 57406).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Oviparous (Ref. 36715).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2009-02-04. Resilience: Low (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941 (as S. tortugae)
Springer and Bullis 1956 (as Pontinus castor or P. pollux)
Bullis and Thompson 1965 (as P. pollux)
Eschmeyer 1969b
Hoese and Moore 1977, 1998
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Poss and Eschmeyer 2002
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Moser, H.G. (1996) Scorpaenidae: scorpionfishes and rockfishes. p. 733-795. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current Region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. 1505 p.
Fowler, H.W. (1935) Description of a new scorpaenoid fish (Neomerinthe hemingwayi) from off New Jersey. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 87(1935):41-43.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
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