Parapercis hexophtalma

Parapercis hexophtalma
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Trachiniformes
Family:	Pinguipedidae
Genus:	Parapercis
Species:	P. hexophtalma
Binomial name
	Parapercis hexophtalma; (Cuvier, 1829)
Synonyms
	Parapercis hexophthalama (Cuvier, 1829); Parapercis hexophthalma (Cuvier, 1829); Parapercis polyophtalma (Cuvier, 1829); Parapercis polyophthalma (Cuvier, 1829); Parapercis polyopthalma (Cuvier, 1829); Parapercis polyphtalma (Cuvier & Valenciennes); Percis hexophtalma Cuvier, 1829; Percis hexophthalma Cuvier, 1829; Percis polyophthalma Cuvier, 1829;

Last updated August 10, 2023

Parapercis hexophtalma, the speckled sandperch, is a species of marine bony fish in the family Pinguipedidae, found in the western Indo-Pacific Ocean. It was first described by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1829. There are several synonyms, some of which represent misspellings of the original name,^[1] and others which were given to female fish, at the time thought to be a separate species.^[2]

Description

The speckled sandperch grows to a length of around 28 cm (11 in) and is about five times as long as the body is deep. The anterior (front) end of the body is cylindrical and the posterior end is somewhat flattened. The eyes are rather close together on the top of the head and the fish rests on the seabed, propping itself up with its widely separated pelvic fins. The dorsal fin has five spines and 21 or 22 soft rays, and the anal fin has a single spine and 17 or 18 soft rays.^[3]

The dorsal surface of the fish is greenish dappled with dark brown, the flanks are pale grey and the underparts white. There is a lateral row of large white spots each with one or more small black spots in the middle. On the underparts there are further black spots, mostly edged with yellow. Females have brown spots on the head and males have diagonal yellowish-brown markings on the cheek. The dorsal fin has a black spot at the base of the spines and the caudal fin, which is rounded or has a short extension from the upper lobe, has a larger black spot. There are several rows of small black spots on the soft rays of the dorsal fin and one row on the anal fin.^[3]

Distribution

The speckled sandperch is found in shallow waters on the east coast of Africa as far south as Natal, the Red Sea and the western Indo-Pacific. Its range extends as far east as Sumatra, and includes the Maldives, the Laccadives and Sri Lanka. The type location is the Red Sea.^[2] Although its range was originally thought to extend as far east as Fiji, three new species of Parapercis were recognised in 2007 based on their number of fin rays, their colouration and markings, and the location and number of spots on their anal fins; Parapercis pacifica occurs from southern Japan to the Timor Sea, Parapercis queenslandica from northern Australia, and Parapercis xanthogramma from Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa.^[2] The speckled sandperch generally occurs on sandy or rubble substrates in areas sheltered by reefs.^[3]

Biology

The speckled sandperch is a predator and feeds on small crustaceans and other invertebrates, also taking small fish.^[4]

Several members of the family Pinguipedidae are protogynous hermaphrodites, starting their adult life as females and changing sex to males later,^[3] and this is the case with the speckled sandperch. Not only do the fish change sex, but they also change their markings at the same time.^[4] The sexual inversion occurs at a length of about 18 cm (7 in). Male fish are territorial and defend a harem of females. The eggs are planktonic and larval development takes place during one to two months.^[4]

Related Research Articles

The sandperches are a family, Pinguipedidae, of fishes in the percomorph order Trachiniformes. Sandperches are benthic fish which normally occur over sand or rubble substrates in shallow seas. They are found off the coasts of South America, South Africa and in the Indo-Pacific as far east as Japan. The family contains a few species which are used by humans for food.

Dactyloptena orientalis, known commonly as the Oriental flying gurnard or purple flying gurnard among other vernacular names, is a species of marine fish in the family Dactylopteridae. Their name is derived from the French word 'gurnard' meaning to grunt, for the grunting sound this fish makes.

The orange-spotted grouper, also known as the brown-spotted rockcod, estuary cod, estuary rockcod, goldspotted rockcod, greasy cod, North-west groper, orange spotted cod or blue-and-yellow grouper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It has an Indo-Pacific distribution and is found in marine and brackish waters.

Pomacanthus semicirculatus, also known as the semicircled angelfish, Koran angelfish, blue angelfish, zebra angelfish or half-circled angelfish, is a species of ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish, in the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.

Dendrochirus brachypterus, the dwarf lionfish, short-finned turkeyfish, shortspine rockcod or shortspine scorpionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and lionfishes. It is found in the Indo-Pacific. It is sometimes found in the aquarium trade.

Parapercis is a genus of sandperches belonging to the fish family Pinguipedidae.

The spiny flathead, also known as the whitefin flathead or Bengal flathead, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. It is found in the Indo-West Pacific region. This species is the only known member of its genus.

Apolemichthys trimaculatus, the threespot angelfish or flagfin angelfish, is a demersal marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.

The lunar fusilier, also known as the blue fusilier or moon fusilier, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a fusilier belonging to the family Caesionidae. It is widespread throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific area.

The blackfin slatey, also known as blackfoot sweetlips, blackfin sweetlips or blacktip sweetlips, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is found in the eastern Indian Ocean and the western central Pacific Ocean.

The painted sweetlips, also known as the Australian slatey, blackall, bluey, grey sweetlips, moke, morwong, mother-in-law fish, painted blubber-lips, slate bream, slate sweetlips, smokey bream, thicklip or yellowdot sweetlips is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is widespread throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific region.

Parapercis maculata, the harlequin sandperch, is a species of marine bony fish in the family Pinguipedidae, found in shallow waters in the tropical western Indo-Pacific Ocean.

<i>Parapercis schauinslandii</i> Species of fish

Parapercis schauinslandii, commonly known as redspotted sandperch, lyretail grubfish or flagfin weever, is a species of marine fish native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is a member of the sandperch family Pinguipedidae, form the percomorph order Trachiniformes.

Terapon theraps, the largescaled terapon, banded grunter, banded trumpeter, flagtail grunter, flagtail trumpeter, large-scaled grunter-perch, Northern grunter and spiky trumpeter, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunter from the family Terapontidae. This species has a wide distribution in the Indo-Pacific region.

Sebastiscus marmoratus, the sea ruffe, false kelpfish or dusky stingfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, the rockfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. It is found in the Western Pacific from southern Japan to the Philippines. It has also been sighted twice in Australia.

<i>Parapercis alboguttata</i> Species of fish

Parapercis alboguttata, the bluenose grubfish, known also as the bluenose sandperch and whitespot sandsmelt, is a species of marine bony fish in the family Pinguipedidae, native to the western Indo-Pacific Ocean. It was first described by the German-born, British ichthyologist and zoologist, Albert Günther, in 1872.

Pinguipes chilensis, commonly known as the Chilean sandperch, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Pinguipedidae. It is found in the southeastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Peru and Chile.

Parapercis xanthogramma is a fish species in the sandperch family, Pinguipedidae. It is found in the Central Pacific including Fiji, Western Samoa and Tonga. This species reaches a length of 17.4 cm (6.9 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crocodile flathead</span>

The crocodile flathead is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. It is found in the western Pacific Ocean.

The tuberculated flathead is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. This species is found in Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.

References

1 2 3 Bailly, Nicolas (2014). "Parapercis hexophtalma (Cuvier, 1829)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2015-03-02.
1 2 3 Imamura, Hisashi; Yoshino, Tetsuo (2007). "Three New Species of the Genus Parapercis from the Western Pacific, with Redescription of Parapercis hexophtalma (Perciformes: Pinguipedidae)". Bulletin of the National Museum of Natural Science, Series A, Supplement 1: 81–100.
1 2 3 4 Randall, John E. (1995). Coastal Fishes of Oman. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 304–305. ISBN 978-0-8248-1808-1.
1 2 3 Desvignes, Thomas; Baus, Frédéric; Barrabes, Michel; Sohier, Sandra. "Parapercis hexophtalma (Cuvier, 1829)" (in French). DORIS. Retrieved 2015-03-03.

External links

Photos of Parapercis hexophtalma on Sealife Collection

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[WoRMS-1] 1 2 3 Bailly, Nicolas (2014). "Parapercis hexophtalma (Cuvier, 1829)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2015-03-02.

[Imamura-2] 1 2 3 Imamura, Hisashi; Yoshino, Tetsuo (2007). "Three New Species of the Genus Parapercis from the Western Pacific, with Redescription of Parapercis hexophtalma (Perciformes: Pinguipedidae)". Bulletin of the National Museum of Natural Science, Series A, Supplement 1: 81–100.

[Randall-3] 1 2 3 4 Randall, John E. (1995). Coastal Fishes of Oman. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 304–305. ISBN 978-0-8248-1808-1.

[Doris-4] 1 2 3 Desvignes, Thomas; Baus, Frédéric; Barrabes, Michel; Sohier, Sandra. "Parapercis hexophtalma (Cuvier, 1829)" (in French). DORIS. Retrieved 2015-03-03.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]