Polyamblyodon is a genus of marin ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sparidae, which includes the seabreams and porgies. The fishes in this genus are found in the Western Indian Ocean.
| Polyamblyodon | |
|---|---|
| |
| German seabream (Polyamblyodon germanum) Aliwal Shoal | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Spariformes |
| Family: | Sparidae |
| Genus: | Polyamblyodon Norman, 1934 |
| Type species | |
| Pachymetopon germanum | |
Taxonomy edit
Polyamblyodon was first proposed as a genus in 1935 by the English ichthyologist John Roxborough Norman with Pachymetopon germanum as its type species.[1] P. germanum was first formally described in 1935 by the South African zoologist Keppel Harcourt Barnard with its type locality given as Durban in KwaZulu-Natal.[2] This genus is placed in the family Sparidae within the order Spariformes by the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.[3] Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Boopsinae,[4] but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.[3]
Etymology edit
Polyambylodon is a compound of poly, meaning "many" with amblys, meaning "blunt", and odon, meaning "tooth", a reference to what Normnan, referring to the German seabream, described as “outer row of strong, curved, compressed chisel-like teeth in each jaw , behind which is a broad band composed of 6 or 7 rows of small rounded molariform teeth”.[5]
Species edit
Polyamblyodon contains two recognised species:[6]
- Polyamblyodon germanum (Barnard, 1934) (German seabream)
- Polyamblyodon gibbosum (Pellegrin, 1914) (Knife-back seabream)
Characteristics edit
Polyamblyodon seabreams are characterised by having an outer row of incisor-like teeth, none of which are enlarged at the front, with a thick band of small, rounded teeth behind them. The space between the eyes has no scales but the bases of the soft rayed part of the dorsal and anal fins both have a dense covering of scales.[7] The largest species is P. gibbosum which has a maximum total length of 60 cm (24 in).[6]
Distribution edit
Polyamblyodon seabreams are found in the southwestern Indian Ocean, and marginally in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean, off the coasts of South Africa, Mozambique and Madagascar.
References edit
- ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Sparidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Polyamblyodon". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Parenti, P. (2019). "An annotated checklist of the fishes of the family Sparidae". FishTaxa. 4 (2): 47–98.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf (12 January 2024). "Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 6): Families GERREIDAE, LETHRINIDAE, NEMIPTERIDAE and SPARIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (203). Species of Polyamblyodon in FishBase. October 203 version.
- ^ Yukio Iwatsuki and Phillip C Heemstra (2022). "Family Sparidae". In Phillip C Heemstra; Elaine Heemstra; David A Ebert; Wouter Holleman; and John E Randall (eds.). Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean (PDF). Vol. 3. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. pp. 284–315. ISBN 978-1-990951-32-9.