Lioscorpius

Peter R. Last, Gordon K. Yearsley & Hiroyuki Motomura, 2005, Lioscorpius trifasciatus, a new scorpionfish (Scorpaeniformes: Setarchidae) from the South-West Pacific Ocean., Zootaxa 1038, pp. 11-22 : 12-13

Genus Lioscorpius

Diagnosis: A setarchid genus with the following combination of characters: body relatively elongate, depth 21-28% SL; first spine of lacrimal bone greatly reduced; long dorsal projection covering dorsal articulating surface of preorbital; anal elements II, 6 or III, 5; pectoral-fin rays 23-25; last 2-4 spines of first dorsal fin reduced, often embedded; swim bladder well developed with large gas gland; interorbit narrow, 5-7% SL.

Remarks: Consistent with definition provided by Eschmeyer and Collette (1966) based on Lioscorpius longiceps , except that the new species has three anal-fin spines typical of other setarchids, 5 anal-fin rays, and can have more reduced and embedded dorsalfin spines and a body that is even more elongate with a narrower interorbit than its congener. One specimen of L. longiceps (AMS I 22821-025, 113.6 mm SL) had a broken first anal-fin ray that resembled a thin spine. The first soft ray of the fin is simple and the basal half or so of this element is unsegmented resembling a spine. Lioscorpius species are very similar to each other in appearance and distinct from the much deeper-bodied members of the genus Setarches . Nevertheless, the validity of Lioscorpius , and the reality of the setarchids as a family, is subject to debate.