View source for Biology:Chaunax

{{Short description|Genus of fishes}}
{{Automatic_taxobox
| name = ''Chaunax''
| image = Chaunax suttkusi.jpg
| image_caption = ''Chaunax suttkusi''
| taxon = Chaunax
| authority = R. T. Lowe, 1846
| type_species = ''Chaunax pictus''
| type_species_authority = R. T. Lowe, 1846
| subdivision_ranks = 
| subdivision = 
}}

'''''Chaunax''''' is a [[Biology:Genus|genus]] of [[Biology:Osteichthyes|bony fish]] in the [[Biology:Sea toad|sea toad]] family [[Biology:Chaunacidae|Chaunacidae]].<ref name=Richards2005>{{cite book | author = Richards, W.J. | title = Early Stages of Atlantic Fishes: An Identification Guide for the Western Central North Atlantic, Two Volume Set | publisher = CRC Press | year = 2005 | pages = 1312 | isbn = 978-0-8493-1916-7 }}</ref> They are found in tropical and subtropical oceans around the world and most [[Biology:Species|species]] are found at depths between {{convert|180|and|1100|m|abbr=on}}, but ''C. endeavouri'' occurs as shallow as {{convert|50|m|abbr=on}} and ''C. fimbriatus'' as deep as {{convert|1985|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name=FB>{{FishBase | genus = Chaunax | species = endeavouri | month = January | year = 2016 }}</ref><ref name=FBa>{{FishBase | genus = Chaunax | species = fimbriatus | month = January | year = 2016 }}</ref> Depending on the exact species involved, they reach a total length of {{convert|11|-|40|cm|abbr=on}}.<ref name=fishbase>{{FishBase genus | genus = Chaunax| month = July | year = 2017}}</ref>

==Species==
There are currently 25 recognized species in this genus:<ref name=fishbase/>

* ''Chaunax abei'' <small>Y. Le Danois, 1978</small>
* ''Chaunax africanus'' <small>H.-C. Ho & Last, 2013</small> (African coffinfish)<ref name=Ho2013>{{cite journal |last1=Ho |first1=Hsuan-Ching |last2=Last |first2=Peter R. |title=Two new species of the coffinfish genus ''Chaunax'' (Lophiiformes: Chaunacidae) from the Indian Ocean |journal=Zootaxa |date=2013 |volume=3710 |issue=5 |pages=436–448 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.3710.5.3|doi-access=free }}</ref>
* ''Chaunax apus'' <small>Lloyd, 1909</small><ref name=Ho2015/>
* ''Chaunax atimovatae'' <small>H.-C. Ho & W. C. Ma, 2016</small><ref name=Ho2016a>{{cite journal |last1=Ho |first1=Hsuan-Ching |last2=Ma |first2=Wen-Chun |title=Revision of southern African species of the anglerfish genus ''Chaunax'' (Lophiiformes: Chaunacidae), with descriptions of three new species |journal=Zootaxa |date=2016 |volume=4144 |issue=2 |pages=175–194 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4144.2.2|doi-access=free }}</ref>
* ''Chaunax brachysomus'' <small>H.-C. Ho, Kawai & Satria, 2015</small> (Short-body frogmouth)<ref name=Ho2015>{{cite journal |last1=Ho |first1=Hsuan-Ching |author2=Kawai, T. |author3=Satria, F. |year=2015 |title=Species of the anglerfish genus ''Chaunax'' from Indonesia, with descriptions of two new species (Lophiiformes: Chaunacidae) |journal=Raffles Bulletin of Zoology |volume=63 |pages=301–308 |url=https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/app/uploads/2017/06/63rbz301-308.pdf |access-date=2022-11-09 |archive-date=2015-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927164618/http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/nus/images/data/raffles_bulletin_of_zoology/vol63/63rbz301-308.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* ''Chaunax breviradius'' <small>Y. Le Danois, 1978</small>
* ''Chaunax endeavouri'' <small>Whitley, 1929</small> (Coffinfish)
* ''Chaunax fimbriatus'' <small>Hilgendorf, 1879</small> (Tasselled coffinfish)
* ''Chaunax flammeus'' <small>Y. Le Danois, 1979</small>
* ''Chaunax flavomaculatus'' <small>H.-C. Ho, C. D. Roberts & A. L. Stewart, 2013</small> (Yellow-spot frogmouth)<ref name=Ho2013a>{{cite journal |last1=Ho |first1=Hsuan-Ching |last2=Roberts |first2=Clive D. |last3=Stewart |first3=Andrew L. |title=A review of the anglerfish genus ''Chaunax'' (Lophiiformes: Chaunacidae) from New Zealand and adjacent waters, with descriptions of four new species |journal=Zootaxa |date=2013 |volume=3620 |issue=1 |pages=89–111 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.3620.1.4|doi-access=free }}</ref>
* ''Chaunax gomoni'' <small>H.-C. Ho, Kawai & Satria, 2015</small> (Gomon's frogmouth)<ref name=Ho2015/>
* ''Chaunax heemstraorum'' <small>H.-C. Ho & W. C. Ma, 2016</small><ref name=Ho2016a/>
* ''Chaunax hollemani'' <small>H.-C. Ho & W. C. Ma, 2016</small><ref name=Ho2016a/>
* ''Chaunax latipunctatus'' <small>Y. Le Danois, 1984</small>
* ''Chaunax mulleus'' <small>H.-C. Ho, C. D. Roberts & A. L. Stewart, 2013</small> (Red-shoes frogmouth)<ref name=Ho2013a/>
* ''Chaunax multilepis'' <small>H.-C. Ho, Meleppura & Bineesh, 2016</small> (Indian spotted coffinfish)<ref name=Ho2016>{{cite journal |last1=Ho |first1=Hsuan-Ching |last2=Meleppura |first2=Rajeesh Kumar |last3=Bineesh |first3=K. K. |title=''Chaunax multilepis'' sp. nov., a new species of ''Chaunax'' (Lophiiformes: Chaunacidae) from the northern Indian Ocean |journal=Zootaxa |date=2016 |volume=4103 |issue=2 |pages=130–136 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4103.2.3 |pmid=27394623}}</ref>
* ''Chaunax nebulosus'' <small>H.-C. Ho & Last, 2013</small> (Eye-spot coffinfish)<ref name=Ho2013/>
* ''Chaunax nudiventer'' <small>H.-C. Ho & K. T. Shao, 2010</small> (Naked-belly coffinfish)
* ''Chaunax penicillatus'' <small>McCulloch, 1915</small> (Pencil coffinfish)
* ''Chaunax pictus'' <small>R. T. Lowe, 1846</small> (Pink frogmouth)
* ''Chaunax reticulatus'' <small>H.-C. Ho, C. D. Roberts & A. L. Stewart, 2013</small> (Netted frogmouth)<ref name=Ho2013a/>
* ''Chaunax russatus'' <small>H.-C. Ho, C. D. Roberts & A. L. Stewart, 2013</small> (Red coffinfish)<ref name=Ho2013a/>
* ''Chaunax stigmaeus'' <small>Fowler, 1946</small> (Red-eye coffinfish)
* ''Chaunax suttkusi'' <small>J. H. Caruso, 1989</small>
* ''Chaunax umbrinus'' <small>C. H. Gilbert, 1905</small>

==Description==

The Head and body of the Chaunax suttkusi fish is a pale to rosy pink, with the tops and sides of the head and fins being red; the upper body frequently has yellow dots; while the lower surfaces are whitish. Lures are uniformly pale to dusky on all surfaces with dark threads in the nose cavity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shorefishes - The Fishes - Species |url=https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/species/5575 |access-date=2022-10-28 |website=biogeodb.stri.si.edu}}</ref>

==Habitat and diet==

Members of the fish are primarily found near the ocean floor, along coral reefs, oysters, soft bottoms, and near muddy substrates. Their eating habits revolve around the oceanic floor, where there are occasionally only a few small marine species to be found. As a result, they developed an energy-saving mechanism to allow them to survive on less food. The fish family is a consistent predator. They move slowly enough that their prey is unaware of their existence. In the depths of the ocean floor, they prey on nearly anything, such as small marine fishes that may be part of their diet.{{cn|date=November 2021}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q3049570}}

[[Category:Chaunacidae]]
[[Category:Deep sea fish]]
[[Category:Marine fish genera]]
[[Category:Ray-finned fish genera]]

{{Sourceattribution|Chaunax}}