Pomfret Temporal range: | |
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Atlantic pomfret, Brama brama | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Perciformes |
Superfamily: | Percoidea |
Family: | Bramidae Bonaparte, 1831 [1] |
Genera [2] | |
See text |
Pomfrets are perciform fish belonging to the family Bramidae. The family currently includes 20 species across seven genera. [2] Several species are important food sources for humans, especially Brama brama in South Asia. The earlier form of the pomfret's name was "pamflet", a word which probably ultimately comes from Portuguese pampo, referring to various fish such as the blue butterfish ( Stromateus fiatola ). The fish meat is white in color.
They are found globally in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, as well as numerous seas including the Norwegian, Mediterranean, and Sea of Japan. [3] Nearly all species can be found in the high seas. However, fish in the genera Pterycombus and Pteraclis tend to be found off continental shelves. Further, fishes in the genus Eumegistus are hypothesized to be largely benthic and found to occupy deep water shelves. [3]
Some species of pomfrets are also known as monchong, specifically in Hawaiian cuisine. [4]
The following genera are placed within the family Bramidae: [2] [5]
The following fossil genera are also known: [6]
The fossil genus Digoria was also previously placed with the Bramidae, but is now known to be a beardfish.
The gnomefishes form a small family, Scombropidae, consisting of three extant species of marine fish in the genus Scombrops. They have two dorsal fins and are notable for scales covering the soft parts of the dorsal and anal fins. The eyes are large. The gnomefish, S. boops, lives in deep rocky areas, down to 400 m. It can grow to 150 cm total length and 16 kg weight.
Sebastinae is a subfamily of marine fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae in the order Scorpaeniformes. Their common names include rockfishes, rock perches, ocean perches, sea perches, thornyheads, scorpionfishes, sea ruffes and rockcods. Despite the latter name, they are not closely related to the cods in the genus Gadus, nor the rock cod, Lotella rhacina.
Acropomatidae is a family of fish in the order Perciformes, commonly known as lanternbellies. Acropoma species are notable for having light-emitting organs along their undersides. They are found in all temperate and tropical oceans, usually at depths of several hundred meters. There are about 32 species in as many as 9 genera, although some authorities recognise fewer genera than Fishbase does.
Zoarces is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. It is the only genus in the subfamily Zoarcinae. These eelpouts are found in the northern Atlantic and northern Pacific Oceans.
Synanceiinae is a subfamily of venomous ray-finned fishes, waspfishes, which is classified as part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific oceans. They are primarily marine, though some species are known to live in fresh or brackish waters. The various species of this family are known informally as stonefish, stinger, stingfish and ghouls. Its species are known to have the most potent neurotoxins of all the fish venoms, secreted from glands at the base of their needle-like dorsal fin spines. The vernacular name, stonefish, for some of these fishes derives from their behaviour of camouflaging as rocks. The type species of the family is the estuarine stonefish.
The Priacanthidae, the bigeyes, are a family of 18 species of marine ray-finned fishes. "Catalufa" is an alternate common name for some members of the Priacanthidae. The etymology of the scientific name refers to the family's very rough, spined scales. The common name of "bigeye" refers to the member species' unusually large eyes, suited to their carnivorous and nocturnal lifestyles. Priacanthidae are typically colored bright red, but some have patterns in silver, dusky brown, or black. Most species reach a maximum total length of about 30 cm (12 in), although in a few species lengths of over 50 cm (20 in) are known.
The wreckfish are a family, Polyprionidae in the suborder Percoidei of the order Perciformes.
Haemulidae is a family of fishes in the order Perciformes known commonly as grunts. It is made up of the two subfamilies Haemulinae (grunters) and Plectorhynchinae (sweetlips), which in turn contain about 133 species in 19 genera. These fish are found in tropical fresh, brackish, and salt waters around the world. They are bottom-feeding predators, and named for the ability of Haemulinae to produce sound by grinding their teeth. They also engage in mutualistic relationship with cleaner gobies of genus Elacatinus, allowing them to feed on ectoparasites on their bodies.
Callanthiidae, the splendid perches and groppos is a small family of marine ray-finned fishes in the order Spariformes. These fishes are mainly found in the Indo-Pacific but two species are found in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Epigonidae, the deepwater cardinalfishes, are a family of perciform fishes. The family includes about 43 species.
The sea chubs, also known as rudderfish and pilot fish and in Hawaiian as enenue or nenue, are a family, Kyphosidae, of fishes in the order Perciformes native to the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans usually close to shore in marine waters.
Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies, are a family of marine ray-finned fishes in the suborder Zoarcoidei of the order Scorpaeniformes. Most species are found in the North Pacific Ocean with a few in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Albulidae is a family of fish, commonly known as the bonefishes, that are popular as game fish in Florida, select locations in the South Pacific and the Bahamas and elsewhere. The family is small, with 11 species in 3 genera. Presently, the bonefishes are in their own order: Albuliformes. The families Halosauridae and Notacanthidae were previously classified in this order, but are now, according to FishBase, given their own order Notacanthiformes. The largest bonefish caught in the Western Hemisphere is a 16-pound, 3 ounce example caught off Islamorada, Florida, on March 19, 2007.
The bluespine unicornfish, also known as the short-nose unicornfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. This species is found in the Indo-Pacific. It is occasionally found in the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 70 cm in length. It is called kala ('thorn') in Hawaii, dawa in New Caledonia, and ta or tā in Fiji.
The oceanic basslets are ray-finned fish that belong to the small family Howellidae within the superfamily Percoidea of the suborder Percoidei part of the order Perciformes. The family includes about 9 species. They are mostly deep-water species, some of which move to shallower waters at night. Various species are found in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, including the Coral Sea, and Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea.
Hemilepidotus, the Irish lords, is a genus of ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Agonidae, the poachers and sea ravens. These fishes are found in northern Pacific, northern Atlantic and Arctic oceans.
Brama is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes from the family Bramidae, the pomfrets. Currently, there are 8 species within the genus.
Pterycombus is a genus of pomfret distinguished by greatly elongated dorsal and anal fins. Along with the genus Pteraclis, these fishes are commonly referred to as fanfishes. Pterycombus can be distinguished from Pteraclis by examining the dorsal and anal fin rays, which should be relatively uniform in thickness to neighboring rays and by a lack of scales anterior to the dorsal fin.
Taractes is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes from the family Bramidae, the pomfrets. Taractes can be distinguished from other bramid genera but having a flat, or slightly curved profile, between the eyes and by having scales on both the dorsal and anal fins.
Kyphosus is a genus of sea chubs native to the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the only genus in the subfamily Kyphosinae of the family Kyphosidae.