''Calamus'' 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 ...
es 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 ...
Sparidae
Sparidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes, the seabreams and porgies, although they were traditionally classified in the order Perciformes. The over 150 species are found in shallow and deep marine waters in t ...
, the seabreams and porgies. Most of the species in this genus are found in the Western Atlantic Ocean, with 2 species occurring in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
Taxonomy
''Calamus'' was first proposed as a
monospecific genus in 1839 by the English
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 ...
William Swainson
William Swainson Fellow of the Linnean Society, FLS, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (8 October 1789 – 6 December 1855), was an English ornithologist, Malacology, malacologist, Conchology, conchologist, entomologist and artist.
Life
Swains ...
when he
described ''Calamus megacephalus'' as its only species.
The
type locality of ''C. megacephalus'' was given as
Martinique
Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
, it was later found to be a
junior synonym of ''
Pagellus calamus'', described by
Achille Valenciennes in 1830.
This genus is placed in the family Sparidae within the
order Spariformes by the 5th edition of ''
Fishes of the World
''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...
''.
Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Sparinae,
but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.
[
]
Etymology
''Calamus'' means " quill", an allusion to what Swainson described as “the second anal-fin spine, hollow, shaped as a pen".[ The name of the senior synonym of the ]type species
In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...
is, therefore, not a tautonym.
Species
''Calamus contains the fiollowing recognized species:Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...
, 1830) (Saucereye porgy)
* '' Calamus campechanus'' Randall & Caldwell, 1966 (Campeche porgy)
* '' Calamus cervigoni'' Randall & Caldwell, 1966 (Spotfin porgy)
* '' Calamus leucosteus'' D. S. Jordan & Gilbert, 1885
* '' Calamus mu'' Randall & Caldwell, 1966 (Flathead porgy)
* '' Calamus nodosus'' Randall & Caldwell, 1966 (Knobbed porgy)
* '' Calamus penna'' (Valenciennes, 1830) (Sheepshead porgy)
* '' Calamus pennatula'' Guichenot, 1868 (Pluma porgy)
* '' Calamus proridens'' Jordan & Gilbert, 1884 (Littlehead porgy)
* '' Calamus taurinus'' ( Jenyns, 1840) (Galápagos porgy)
Characteristics
''Calamus'' porgies are characterized by having deep, compressed bodies and deep heads which has a steep dorsal profile and deep cheeks. The posterior nostrils are slits. The large mouth has fleshy lips and a large lower jaw. The suborbital bone overlaps the rear of the maxilla. There are 2 rows of teeth in the jaws, the teeth at the front are canine like and those in the rear resemble molars. The preoperculum has no serrations or spines on its margin. The dorsal fin is low and contains 13 spines while 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 ...
is contains 3 spines. 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 are markedly longer than the pelvic fin
Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...
s. The cheeks and gill cover are scaled but the snout and space in front of the eyes are naked.total length
Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology.
Overall length
Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured f ...
of .[
]
Distribution
''Calamus'' porgies are found in the Americas, 11 of the 13 species being found in the Western Atlantic Ocean and the other 2, ''C. brachysomus'' and ''C. taurinus'', in the eastern Pacific Ocean.[
]
Fisheries
Calamus porgies are valued as food fishes and are important quarry species for both commercial and recreational fisheries.
References
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2729463
Extant Rupelian first appearances
Marine fish genera
Taxa named by William Swainson
Rupelian genus first appearances