| Brazilian flathead | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A depiction of Percophis brasiliensis in Le Règne Animal (Georges Cuvier). | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Suborder: | Notothenioidei |
| Family: | Percophidae Swainson, 1839 [1] |
| Genus: | Percophis Quoy & Gaimard, 1825 |
| Species: | P. brasiliensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Percophis brasiliensis Quoy & Gaimard, 1825 | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
Percophis brasilianus(Misspelling) | |
The Brazilian flathead (Percophis brasiliensis) is a species of ray-finned fish which is the only species of the genus Percophis in the monotypic family Percophidae. [3] It is considered the most basal member of the Notothenioidei, which also contains the Antarctic icefishes. [4] It occurs in the southwestern Atlantic off the South American coast from southern Brazil to central Argentina. [5] It is fished commercially, and is considered overfished in southern Brazil. [6]
Percophidae was first proposed as a family in 1839 by the English zoologist William Swainson as a subfamily of the Percidae. [7] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classified this family within the order Trachiniformes and included the Bembropinae and Hemerocoetinae within it as subfamilies. [8] However, more recent phylogenetic studies have found such a placement to be paraphyletic, and have recognized it as a monotypic family within the Notothenioidei containing a single species. [3]
