Ephippus orbis

Ephippus orbis
Ephippus orbis as illustrated by Francis Day in The Fauna of British India
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1] (Persian Gulf regional assessment)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Acanthuriformes
Family:	Ephippidae
Genus:	Ephippus
Species:	E. orbis
Binomial name
Ephippus orbis (Bloch, 1787)
Synonyms [2]
Chaetodon orbisBloch, 1787 Ephippeus orbis(Bloch, 1787) Epippus orbis(Bloch, 1787)

Ephippus orbis, commonly known as the orbfish or orbiculate spadefish, is a species of marine fish in the family Ephippidae native to the shallow waters of the Indo-West Pacific region.

Distribution and habitat

Native to the Indo-West Pacific region, ^[3] Ephippus orbis can be found in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf (including the waters of Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates), ^[1] the Indian Ocean (including the waters of East Africa as far south as South Africa and eastward to India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka), ^{[4] [5]} and the western Pacific Ocean (including the waters of northern Australia, China, southern Japan, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Taiwan). ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Ephippus orbis inhabits shallow coastal waters and estuaries at depths of 10–30 m (33–98 ft) and is sometimes associated with coral reefs. ^{[1] [3] [4]}

Description

Ephippus orbis is a silvery blue-green fish with a compressed, orbicular body and dark fins, growing up to 25 cm (9.8 in) total length. ^{[3] [4]} The body may be uniform in colour or marked with four to five dark, narrow bars. The snout is short and steep with a small mouth. The dorsal fin has nine to ten spines (with spines two to five being elongated) and nineteen to twenty rays, with deep indentations in the fin membrane between each spine and where the spines meet the soft rays. The anal fin has three spines and fourteen to seventeen rays, and each pectoral fin has nineteen to twenty rays. ^{[3] [4]}

Ecology

Ephippus orbis is known to feed on benthic fish and invertebrates. ^{[1] [3]}

References

1. Carpenter, K.E.; Kaymaram, F.; Abdulqader, E.; Hartmann, S.; Bishop, J.; Almukhtar, M.; Almuftah, A.; Alghawzi, Q. (2015). "Ephippus orbis (Persian Gulf assessment)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T54007371A57097575. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Synonyms of Ephippus orbis (Bloch, 1787)". FishBase . Retrieved 21 March 2025.
3. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Ephippus orbis". FishBase . Retrieved 21 March 2025.
4. Heemstra, Phillip C. (2022). "Family Ephippidae: Spadefishes, orbfishes and platax". In Heemstra, Phillip C.; Heemstra, Elaine; Ebert, David A.; Holleman, Wouter; Randall, John E. (eds.). Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean. Vol. 5. Makhanda, South Africa: South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. p. 204. ISBN   978-1-998950-39-3.
5. Lieske, Ewald; Myers, Robert (2001). Coral Reef Fishes: Indo-Pacific and Caribbean (Revised ed.). HarperCollins Publishing. p. 56. ISBN   962-593-960-1.