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 ...
Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. These fishes are mostly found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, with a single species in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Taxonomy
''Lethrinus'' was first proposed as a 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 ...
Georges 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 ...
. In 1912
David Starr Jordan
David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Universi ...
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 ...
of the genus. ''Sparus choerorynchus'' had been described in 1801 by
Marcus Elieser Bloch
Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) was a German physician and naturalist who is best known for his contribution to ichthyology through his multi-volume catalog of plates illustrating the fishes of the world. Brought up in a Hebrew-speaking Jewish ...
and
Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider
Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider (18 January 1750 – 12 January 1822) was a German Empire, German classicist and natural history, naturalist.
Biography
Schneider was born at Collm in Saxony. In 1774, on the recommendation of Christian Gottlob H ...
with its type locality given as Japan. ''Sparus choerorynchus'' is now considered to be a
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
of ''Lethrinus nebulosus'' (Forsskål 1775). Some authors place this genus in the monotypic
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...
Lethrininae, with all the other genera of Lethrinidae placed in the Monotaxinae, however, 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 ...
'' does not recognise the subfamilies traditionally accepted within the family Lethrinidae as valid. The family Lethrinidae is classified by the 5th edition of ''Fishes of the World'' as belonging to the
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
...
Spariformes
Spariformes is an order of ray-finned fishes consisting of six families within the series Percomorpha.
Taxonomy
Spariformes was first used as a taxonomic term in 1860 by the Dutch physician, herpetologist and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker. Trad ...
.
Etymology
''Lethrinus'' was the name in Greek for fishes in the
Sparid
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 tem ...
genus ''
Pagellus
''Pagellus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging the family (biology), family Sparidae, which includes the seabreams and porgies. These fishes are found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the western Indian Ocean. ...
''.
Species
''Lethrinus'' currently has 30 recognised species classified within it:
* ''
Lethrinus amboinensis
''Lethrinus amboinensis'', the Ambon emperor, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. This species is found in the Western Pacific Ocean.
Taxonomy
''Lethrinus amboinensis'' was ...
Lethrinus atkinsoni
''Lethrinus atkinsoni'', the Pacific yellowtail emperor,, Atkinson's emperor, reticulated emperor, tricky snapper, Tuamotu emperor, yellow morwong or yellow-tailed emperor is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae ...
Lethrinus atlanticus
''Lethrinus atlanticus'', the Atlantic emperor, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. This species is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off the coast of western Africa.
Tax ...
''
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 ...
Lethrinus conchyliatus
''Lethrinus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. These fishes are mostly found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, with a single species in the eastern Atlantic Ocean ...
'' (
J. L. B. Smith
James Leonard Brierley Smith (26 September 1897 – 8 January 1968) was a South African ichthyology, ichthyologist, organic chemist, and university professor. He was the first to identify a taxidermied fish as a coelacanth, at the time thought t ...
Temminck
Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch patrician, zoologist and museum director.
Biography
Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. From his father, Jacob ...
Fabricius Fabricius (, ) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*people from the Ancient Roman Fabricia gens, gens Fabricia:
**Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, the first of the Fabricii to move to Rome
* Johann Goldsmid (1587–1616), known by his ...
Lethrinus longirostris
''Lethrinus longirostrus'' is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. This species is found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Taxonomy
''Lethrinus longirostris'' was first formally des ...
Erdmann Erdmann is a first name and surname, and may refer to:
Surname
*Carl Erdmann (1898—1945), German historian
*Eduard Erdmann (1896—1958), Baltic German pianist and composer
* Hans Otto Erdmann (1896–1944), member of the German resistance
*Hugo ...
, 2021 (Mitchell's emperor)
* ''
Lethrinus nebulosus
''Lethrinus nebulosus'', the spangled emperor, green snapper, morwong, north-west snapper, sand bream, sand snapper, sixteen-pounder, sharie, sheri and yellow sweetlip, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, t ...
Lethrinus obsoletus
''Lethrinus obsoletus'', the orange-striped emperor, yellow-banded emperor or yellowstripe emperor, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors or emperor breams. This species has a wide Indo-Pacific d ...
'' (Forsskål, 1775) (Orange-striped emperor)
* ''
Lethrinus olivaceus
''Lethrinus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. These fishes are mostly found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, with a single species in the eastern Atlantic Ocean ...
'' Valenciennes, 1830 (Longface emperor)
* ''
Lethrinus ornatus
''Lethrinus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. These fishes are mostly found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, with a single species in the eastern Atlantic Ocean ...
Lethrinus scoparius
''Lethrinus scoparius'' is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors and emperor breams. This species is found in the southwestern Indian Ocean. ''L. scoparius'' was previously considered to be a junior ...
''Lethrinus'' emperors are medium to large in size with oblong-shaped laterally compressed bodies. The dorsal profile of the head to the front of the eyes may be convex, straight or concave and the slope of the snout varies from gradual to very steep. The mouth is of moderate size and may extend as far back as the front of the orbit and it has molar-like or conical teeth in the sides of the jaws. They have a continuous
dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...
which is supported by 10 spines and 9 soft rays 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 ...
has 3 spines and 8 soft rays. 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 ...
has 13 fin rays and the
caudal 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 only ...
is moderately o deeply forked with either pointed or rounded lobes. They have scaleless cheeks, and the axils of the pectoral fins may have a dense covering of scales, a sparse covering of scales or be scaleless. Emperors are silvery, grey, olive, greenish, bluish, tan, brown or reddish in colour, frequently marked with darker blotches or bars that can either be permanent or be shown in a reflection of the emotional state of the fish. They may have bright red markings on or near the base of the pectoral fin, on 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 or on the membranes of the anal and dorsal fins close to their bases. Further red markings may be on the margins of the operculum and
preoperculum
This glossary of ichthyology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in ichthyology, the study of fishes.
A
B
C
...
, as well as on the head. These red markings often vary within a species. The fins may be clear, pale, bluish, yellowish or reddish, frequently marked with blotches and they often have reddish margins. The largest species is the longface emperor (''L. olivaceus'') with a maximum published
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 ...
''Lethrinus'' emperors are mostly found in the Indian and Western Pacific Ocean, with a single species, the Atlantic emperor (''L' atlanticus'') in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. These fishes are found in coastal waters on rocky and coral reefs, sandy areas, seagrass beds and mangroves as deep as .
Biology
''Lethrinus'' emperors typically spawn in large aggregations but normally live as solitary individuals or in small aggregations. They feed on benthic invertebrates and fishes.
Fisheries
''Lethrinus'' emperors are of some importance to fisheries wherever they occur and in some nations, they are the most important genus of Lethrinidae landed by weight. Fishing methods used include
handlining
Handline fishing, or handlining, is a fishing technique where a single fishing line is held in the hands, rather than with a fishing rod like the usual angling, of which handlining is a subtype. Handlining is not to be confused with handfishing, ...
,
longlining
Longline fishing, or longlining, is a commercial fishing angling technique that uses a long ''main line'' with baited hooks attached at intervals via short branch lines called ''snoods'' or ''gangions''.traps, trawls and beach seines.