spiny horsefish
Zanclorhynchus spinifer Günther, 1880
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Zanclorhynchus spinifer, also known as the Antarctic horsefish or spiny horsefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Congiopodidae, the horsefishes or pigfishes. This fish is found in the Southern Ocean where it occurs at depths of from 5 to 400 metres (16 to 1,312 ft). This species grows to a length of 40 centimetres (16 in) TL and is of minor importance to the commercial fishery industry.
Wikipedia contributors, Zanclorhynchus spinifer; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:10:36.997616+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Zanclorhynchus spinifer Günther, 1880
- Name authority
- Günther, 1880
- Common name
- spiny horsefish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Zanclorhynchidae
- Genus
- Zanclorhynchus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderPerciformes
- suborderScorpaenoidei
- familyZanclorhynchidae Andriashev, 1993
- genusZanclorhynchus Günther, 1880
- speciesZanclorhynchus spinifer Günther, 1880
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Zanclorhynchus spinifer macquariensis Zhukov, 2019 Zhukov, 2019 | synonym |
| Zanclorhynchus spinifer spinifer Günther, 1880 Günther, 1880 | synonym |
| Zanclorhynchus spinifer heracleus Zhukov & Balushkin, 2018 Zhukov & Balushkin, 2018 | synonym |
| Zanclorhynchus spinifer armatus Zhukov, 2019 Zhukov, 2019 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Günther, A. (1880). Report on the shore fishes procured during the voyage of H. M. S. Challenger in the years 1873-1876. In: Report on the scientific results of the voyage of H. M. S. Challenger during the years 1873-76. Zoology., v. 1 (pt 6): 1–82, Pls. 1–32. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.51598 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:5CVZS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.