Lethrinidae

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Lethrinidae
Lethrinus obsoletus.jpg
Orange-striped emperor ( Lethrinus obsoletus )
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Spariformes
Family: Lethrinidae
Bonaparte, 1831 [1]
Subfamilies and genera

see text

Lethrinidae are a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes commonly known as emperors, emperor breams, and pigface breams.

Contents

These fish are found in tropical waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and Lethrinus atlanticus is also found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. They are benthic feeders, consuming invertebrates and small fishes. Some species have molariform teeth which they use to eat shelled invertebrates, such as molluscs and crabs.

Taxonomy

Lethrinidae was first proposed as a family name by the French zoologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1831. [1] Traditionally this family has been classified within the Perciformes, as part of the group of families some authorities called the "Sparoid lineage", this included the families Centrarchidae, Nemipteridae, Lethrinidae and Sparidae. [2] Molecular phylogenetics as used in more modern classifications has meant that the Spariformes is recognised as a valid order within the Percomorpha containing six families, with the Centrarchidae retained in the Perciformes, and Callanthidae, Sillaginidae and Lobotidae included. [3] Other workers have found that the Centrarchidae is synonymous with Sparidae and that the Spariformes contains only the remaining three families of the "Sparoid lineage". [4] This family and the Nemipteridae are more closely related to each other than they are to the Sparidae. [3]

Subdivisions

This family has been subdivided into two subfamilies by some authors, the monotypic Lethrininae, containing the genus Lethrinus and the Monotaxinae, containing the remaining genera. This validity of these subfamilies is not supported by the 5th edition of Fishes of the World. [3]

Genera

The following four genera are classified within the familey Lethrinidae: [5] [6]

Etymology

Lethrinidae takes its name from its type genus, Lethrinus which was the name in Greek for fishes in the Sparid genus Pagellus . [7]

Characteristics

Lethrinidae breams have a continuous dorsal fin which is supported by 10 spines and 9 or 10 soft rays and an anal fin that is supported by 3 spines and between 9 and 10 soft rays. They have an emarginate or forked caudal fin. The terminal mouth varies in size from small to medium-sized and has thick, fleshy lips and a potrusible upper jaw. There is a row of canine-like teeth on the outer side of the front both jaws with molar-like or conical teeth on the sides and an inner row of bristle like teeth at the front too, there are no teeth on the roof of the mouth. [8] The largest species in the family is Lethrinus olivaceus with a maximum published total length of 100 cm (39 in) while the smallest are Lethrinus mitchelli and Lethrinus variegatus both with a maximum published total length of 20 cm (7.9 in). [5]

Distribution and habitat

Lethrinidae fishes are found mainly in the tropical Indian and Western Pacific Oceans, with a single species, Lethrinus atlanticus, being found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. They are coastal fishes and are associated with reefs but prefer substrates of sand and rubble. [8]

Biology

Lethrinidae fishes are mostly bottom feeding carnivores and they typically have strong jaws. The teeth type and jaw structure depend on the diet, for example, species such as the humpnose big-eye bream ( Monotaxis grandoculis ) possesses large, well-developed molar-like teeth with a short, blunt snout and preys largely on molluscs, sea urchins and other hard-shelled benthic invertebrates while species such as Lethrinus olivaceus has jaws equipped with conical teeth at the sides and a long, sloping snout and its prey is largely other fishes and crustaceans. They are mostly nocturnal feeders and some species undertake diel migrations to feed in different habitats at night from the diurnal habitat. Lethrinids are solitary but some species gather in small aggregations, although they will gather together in large numbers to spawn. Spawning appears to be a night time activity and has been little studied. [8]

Fisheries

Lethrinidae species are an important component of some commercial, artisanal and recreational fisheries and their importance in any fishery varies geographically and over time. The valuable species ti fisheries are the larger and commoner species while the smaller and uncommon species are not valued. They are most commonly caught in Mauritius, the Arabian Peninsula and Fiji. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sparidae</span> Family of fishes

Sparidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes, the sea breams and porgies, although they were traditionally classified in the order Perciformes. They are found in shallow temperate and tropical waters around the world and are demersal carnivores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nemipteridae</span> Family of fishes

Nemipteridae, the threadfin breams, whiptail breams, or Sultan Ibrahim, is a family of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes. These fishes are found in the Indo-West Pacific region.

<i>Lethrinus miniatus</i> Species of fish

Lethrinus miniatus, the trumpet emperor, redthroat emperor, sweetlip emperor, Sweetlip Swoose, island snapper, yellowmouth perch, yellowmouth snapper, lipper or nannygal, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. This species is found the eastern Indo-West Pacific region.

<i>Monotaxis grandoculis</i> Species of fish

Monotaxis grandoculis, the humpnose big-eye bream, bigeye barenose, bigeye bream, bigeye emperor, grand-eyed porgy fish, humpnose sea-bream, large-eye bream,mu and roundtooth large-eye bream, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. This species is found in the Indian and Pacific Ocean.

<i>Monotaxis</i> (fish) Genus of fishes

Monotaxis is a small genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. The fishes in this genus are found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.

<i>Gymnocranius</i> Genus of fishes

Gymnocranius is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. These fishes are found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

<i>Lethrinus</i> Genus of fishes

Lethrinus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. These fishes are mostly found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, with a single species in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

Wattsia is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the familyLethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. The only species in the genus is Wattsa mossambica, the Mozambique large-eye bream or Mozambique sea bream of the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.

<i>Lethrinus olivaceus</i> Species of fish

Lethrinus olivaceus, common name longface emperor or long-nosed emperor, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors or emperor breams. This species has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.

<i>Lethrinus obsoletus</i> Species of fish

Lethrinus obsoletus, the orange-striped emperor, yellow-banded emperor or yellowstripe emperor, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors or emperor breams. This species has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.

<i>Lethrinus atkinsoni</i> Species of fish

Lethrinus atkinsoni, the Pacific yellowtail emperor,, Atkinson's emperor, reticulated emperor, tricky snapper, Tuamotu emperor, yellow morwong or yellow-tailed emperor is a species of marine ray-finned fish benomging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperor breams and emperors. This fish is found in the Western Pacific Ocean.

<i>Lethrinus microdon</i> Species of fish

Lethrinus microdon, the smalltooth emperor, longface emperor or pigface bream, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. This species has a widespread distribution in the Indo-Pacific.

<i>Lethrinus atlanticus</i> Species of fish

Lethrinus atlanticus, the Atlantic emperor, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. This species is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off the coast of western Africa.

<i>Gymnocranius griseus</i> Species of fish

Gymnocranius griseus, the grey large-eye bream, barred large-eye bream, grey emperor, grey seabream and naked-head seabream, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. This species is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spariformes</span> Order of fishes

Spariformes is an order of ray-finned fishes consisting of 6 families within the series Percomorpha.

<i>Gymnocranius grandoculis</i> Species of fish

Gymnocranius grandoculis, the blue-lined large-eye bream, iodine bream, Maori sea bream or Robinson's sea bream, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emeprors and emperor breams. This fish has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.

<i>Lethrinus crocineus</i> Species of marine fish

Lethrinus crocineus, the yellowtail emperor, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. This fish is found in the Indian Ocean.

<i>Lethrinus variegatus</i> Species of marine fish

Lethrinus variegatus, the slender emperor or variegated emperor, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. This fish has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.

<i>Monotaxis heterodon</i> Species of fish

Monotaxis heterodon, the redfin emperor, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. This fish is found in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.

<i>Lethrinus borbonicus</i> Species of fish

Lethrinus borbonicus, the snubnose emperor, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperor breams and emperors. This species is found in the Western Indian Ocean and is of some importance to commercial fisheries in that region.

References

  1. 1 2 Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 1–230. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 . PMID   25543675.
  2. Kent E. Carpenter and G. David Johnson (2002). "A phylogeny of sparoid fishes (Perciformes, Percoidei) based on morphology". Ichthyological Research. 49 (2): 114–127. Bibcode:2002IchtR..49..114C. doi:10.1007/s102280200015.
  3. 1 2 3 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.
  4. Ricardo Betancur-R; Edward O. Wiley; Gloria Arratia; et al. (2017). "Phylogenetic classification of bony fishes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17 (162): 162. Bibcode:2017BMCEE..17..162B. doi: 10.1186/s12862-017-0958-3 . PMC   5501477 . PMID   28683774.
  5. 1 2 Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2023). "Lethrinidae" in FishBase . October 2023 version.
  6. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Lethrinidae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  7. "Order SPARIFORMES: Families LETHRINIDAE, NEMIPTERIDAE and SPARIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Kent E. Carpenter; Gerald R. Allen (1989). Emperor fishes and large-eye breams of the world (Family Lethrinidae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of lethrinid species known to date. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 9. FAO, Rome.