| Siganidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Marbled spinefoot (Siganus rivulatus) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Acanthuriformes |
| Family: | Siganidae Richardson, 1837[2] |
Siganidae, therabbitfishes, are a smallfamily ofray-finned fishes in the orderPerciformes. The onlyextant genus isSiganus, the rabbitfish and spinefoot.[3][4] However, a number of genera are known from fossils.[1]
The extant species are marine fish found in the Indo-Pacific and eastern Mediterranean. They are important foodfishes and some are popular in the aquarium trade.[3]
The Siganidae was first formally described as a family in 1837 by theScottishnaval surgeon,naturalist andarcticexplorer SirJohn Richardson.[2] The genusSiganus was described in 1775 by the DanishzoologistJohan Christian Fabricius withSiganus rivulatus, a species alsodescribed by Fabricius in 1775, designated as thetype species. The description was based on notes taken by the naturalistPeter Forsskål when he was on theDanish Arabia expedition (1761–67) and was published inCarsten Niebuhr'sDescriptiones animalium avium, amphibiorum, piscium, insectorum, vermium; quae in itinere orientali observavit Petrus Forskål. Post mortem auctoris edidit Carsten Niebuhr. Catalog of Fishes lists the authority as "Fabricius [J. C.] (ex Forsskål) in Niebuhr 1775" and states that the genus is valid as "Siganus Fabricius 1775".[4]
Carl Linnaeus originally described the genusTeuthis, with the type species beingTeuthis hepatus. One of the type specimens he used looks likeSiganus javus, although the other is definitely not a rabbitfish, and theInternational Commission on Zoological Nomenclature has been asked to suppress the nameTeuthis in favour ofSiganus to reflect the prevailing usage.[5]
The family Siganidae is classified as one of two families in thesuperfamilySiganoidea, within thesuborder Percoidei of theorderPerciformes in the 5th edition ofFishes of the World. In other classifications it is classified as a family within the order Acunthuriformes,[6] or as one of a group of families classified asincertae sedis within the seriesEupercaria.[3]
There is one extant genus[3][4] and several extinct ones:[1][7]