Choridactylus

thumb | right | An 1848 illustration of Choridactylus multibarbarus Choridactylus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, it is one of two genera in the tribe Choridactylini, one of the three tribes which are classified within the subfamily Synanceiinae within the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. They are commonly known as stingfishes. They are found in the Indo-West Pacific.

==Taxonomy== Choridactylus was first described as a genus in 1848 by the Scottish naval surgeon, Arctic explorer and naturalist John Richardson as a monotypic genus. Its only species was Choridactylus multibarbus which Richardson had also described in 1848 with its type locality given as the "Sea of China". It is one of two genera in the tribe Choridactylini within the subfamily Synanceiinae of the family Scorpaenidae. However, some authorities classify this taxon as a subfamily Choridactylinae within the family Synanceiidae. The generic name is made up of choris, meaning "separated", and dactylus, which means "finger", and allusion to the detached pectoral fin rays of C. multibarbus, a feature which "readily distinguished" it from other stonefishes known to Richardson.