The genus name is a compound of prion; "saw", and notus; "back", as Lacépède saw three free dorsal spines (not encased in the fin's membrane) when he was describing the type speciesP. evolans but these were probably the result of damage to the specimen.[2]
P. murielae is based on a single holotype and in 2020 it was proposed that this was a juvenile of P. ophyras,[6] and this taxon is treated as a junior synonym of P. ophryas.[7]
Prionotus searobins have a large, nearly square and bony head which bears a number of spines and ridges with a wide interorbital space. The mouth is either terminal or slightly inferior with "simple" teeth on the jaws and on the roof of the mouth. There are 2 separate dorsal fins; the first usually possessing 10, sometimes 9 or 11, spines, although the very short rear spines are very difficult to discern. The second dorsal fin has 11 to 13 soft rays. The long pectoral fins extend beyond the middle of the base of the anal fin and contains 13-14 rays within its membrane, and 2-3 enlarged rays at the bottom of the fin that are free, not encased in the membrane. Most of the body is covered in rough scales including the upper rear flap of the operculum over the spine with scales and the nape.[8] The largest species is the common sea robin (P. ruscarius) of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, which has a maximum published total length of 30.5cm (12.0in), while the smallest is P. murielae with a maximum published total length of 6cm (2.4in).[4]
During mating season they are known to make a staccato call, different from their typical grunts. They spawn between late spring and early fall, with activity peaking in July and August. They are batch spawners; the females have a few ripe eggs at a time and these are fertilized externally. The pelagic eggs are yellow, and have a diameter of less than 1 millimeter. They take around 60 hours to hatch and there is no parental care. The hatchling larvae are between 2 and 3mm (0.079 and 0.118in) in length. The walking rays develop when the larvae reach a length of 150mm (5.9in) and they attain sexual maturity around 2 or 3 years old, and may live for up to 11 years, though they usually they only live around 8 years.[9]
↑Victor, B.C. & Ianniello, L. (2020). "Prionotus murielae Mowbray, 1928 is the juvenile of the Bandtail Searobin Prionotus ophryas (Teleostei: Scorpaeniformes: Triglidae)". Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation. 35: 76–85. doi:10.5281/zenodo.3962673.
↑"Genus: Prionotus, Searobins". Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
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