''Bembras'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Bembridae Bembridae, the deep-water flatheads, are a family of bottom-dwelling ray-finned fishes. They are found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. Taxonomy Bembridae was first proposed as a family in 1873 by the German zoologist Johann Jakob Kaup ...

, the deepwater flatheads. These fishes are found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

''Bembras'' was first proposed as a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus in 1829 by the French

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

George Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

when he described ''Bembras japonica'' from Japan. Cuvier did not explain the

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

of ''Bembras'', however, it is thought that it may come from an ancient Greek word for some sort of small fish, such as

anchovy An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the Family (biology), family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 speci ...

sprat Sprat is the common name applied to a group of forage fish belonging to the genus ''Sprattus'' in the Family (biology), family Clupeidae. The term also is applied to a number of other small sprat-like forage fish (''Clupeoides'', ''Clupeonella ...

smelt Smelt may refer to: * Smelting, chemical process * The common name of various fish: ** Smelt (fish), a family of small fish, Osmeridae ** Australian smelt in the family Retropinnidae and species ''Retropinna semoni'' ** Big-scale sand smelt ''At ...

. which at least dates as far back as

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

. Cuvier applied this type of name to other genera he put forward, such as ''

Synodontis ''Synodontis'' is the largest genus of mochokid catfishes. It is the biggest genus within the 10 genera and 190 different species in the family Mochokidae. ''Synodontis'' has over 131 different species within the genus. ''Synodontis'' are also k ...

'', ''

Salanx ''Salanx'' is a genus of icefishes native to Eastern Asia, ranging from Korea and Japan, through China to Vietnam. They are small fish, up to in standard length. Species There are currently five recognized species in this genus: * '' Salanx a ...

'' or ''

Premnas Clownfishes or anemonefishes (genus ''Amphiprion'') are saltwater fishes found in the warm and tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. They inhabit mainly coral reefs and have a distinctive colouration typically consisting of white vertical bars on ...

''.

Species

There are currently seven recognized species in this genus: * '' Bembras adenensis'' Imamura & L. W. Knapp, 1997 * '' Bembras andamanensis'' Imamura, Psomadakis & Thein, 2018 * ''

Bembras japonica ''Bembras'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the Family (biology), family Bembridae, the deepwater flatheads. These fishes are found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy ''Bembras'' was first proposed as a ...

'' G. Cuvier, 1829 * '' Bembras leslieknappi'' Imamura, Psomadakis & Thein, 2018 * '' Bembras longipinnis'' Imamura & L. W. Knapp, 1998 (Longfin flathead) * '' Bembras macrolepis'' Imamura, 1998 (Bigscale flathead) * '' Bembras megacephala'' Imamura & L. W. Knapp, 1998 (Greenspotted flathead)

Characteristics

''Bembras'' deepwater flatheads are differentiated from other Bembrid genera by having a lack of spines in the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

, a terminal lower jaw which does not protrude beyond the upper jaw and having the maxillae being relatively wide to its rear. They have between 28 and 32 scales in the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

and between 21 and 30 fin rays in each of the

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

s. The head is large at around 40% of the

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

. The species within ''Bembras'' are all around the same size with the largest being ''B. japonica'' which has a maximum published

of .

Distribution and habitat

''Bembras'' deepwater flatheads are found in the Indo-Pacific region from the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

to the Western Pacific Ocean north as far as Japan and south to Australia. These are

demersal fish Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 They oc ...

es of the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an islan ...

at depths between .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1592777 Bembridae Taxa named by Georges Cuvier