Lithognathus

Lithognathus
Temporal range: Miocene to Present[1]
Lithognathus mormyrus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Acanthuriformes
Family: Sparidae
Genus: Lithognathus
Swainson, 1839[2]
Type species
Lithognathus capensis
Swainson, 1839[3]
Species

See text

Synonyms[3]

Lithognathus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sparidae, which includes the seabreams and porgies. Species in this genus are given the common name of steenbras. The genus is found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean from southwestern Europe to South Africa and into the southwestern Indian Ocean.

Taxonomy

Lithognathus was first proposed as taxon in 1839 by the English zoologist William John Swainson, Swainson named it as a momotypic subgenus of Pagellus with Pagellus (Lithognathis) capensis as its only species and, therefore, its type species.[3] Swainson's name is now understood to be a junior synonym of Pagrus lithognathus which had been described in 1829 by Georges Cuvier, with its type locality given as the Cape of Good Hope.[4] The genus Lithognathus is placed in the family Sparidae within the order Spariformes by the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.[5] Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Pagellinae,[6] but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.[5]

Etymology

Lithognathus means "stone jaw", Swainson described the maxillaries as "thick, enlarged, and as hard as stone". It is not a tautonym as Swainson unnecessarily renamed Cuvier's Pagellus lithognathus as L. lithognathus.[7]

Species

The World Register of Marine Species lists the following four species :[8]

Characteristics

Lithognathus steenbras breams are characterised by an oblong compressed, body with a long snout. The tips of the pectoral fins extend almost as far as the origin of the anal fin. The teeth in the front of the jaws are small and arranged in bands with between 3 and 6 rows of molar-like teeth in the upper jawand between 2 and 4 rows in the lower jaw. In adults the maxillasoes not extend as far as the anterior edge of the Orbit (anatomy), The scales on the head reach as afr as the posterior edge of the orbit.[9] The largest species in the genus is the white steenbras with a maximum published total length of 200 cm (79 in) while the smallest is the L. olivieri.[8]

Distribution

Lithognathus steenbras breams occur in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean from southwestern Europe to South Africa and into the southwestern Indian Ocean.[8]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lithognathus.
  1. ^ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
  2. ^ Bailly, Nicolas (2014). "Lithognathus Swainson, 1839". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
  3. ^ a b c Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Sparidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  4. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Lithognathus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b Nelson, J.S.; Grande, T.C.; Wilson, M.V.H. (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 502–506. doi:10.1002/9781119174844. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. LCCN 2015037522. OCLC 951899884. OL 25909650M.
  6. ^ Parenti, P. (2019). "An annotated checklist of the fishes of the family Sparidae". FishTaxa. 4 (2): 47–98.
  7. ^ Christopher Scharpf (12 January 2024). "Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 6): Families GERREIDAE, LETHRINIDAE, NEMIPTERIDAE and SPARIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  8. ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Lithognathus". FishBase. October 2024 version.
  9. ^ Yukio Iwatsuki and Phillip C Heemstra (2022). "Family Sparidae". In Phillip C Heemstra; Elaine Heemstra; David A Ebert; Wouter Holleman; and John E Randall (eds.). Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean (PDF). Vol. 3. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. pp. 284–315. ISBN 978-1-990951-32-9.