''Parabembras'' 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, although they are sufficiently different from the other genera in that family to be classified as their own family, Parabembradidae, by some authorities. These fishes are found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

''Parabembras'' was first described as a genus in 1874 by the Dutch

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

and

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

Pieter Bleeker Pieter Bleeker (10 July 1819 – 24 January 1878) was a Dutch medical doctor, Ichthyology, ichthyologist, and Herpetology, herpetologist. He was famous for the ''Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises'', his monumental work on ...

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 with its only species being ''Bembras curtus''. which had been described in 1843 by

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 ...

and

Schlegel Schlegel is a German occupational surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anthony Schlegel (born 1981), American football player * August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845), German poet, brother of Friedrich * Brad Schlegel (born 1968), C ...

from

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

. The 5th edition of Fishes of the World places ''Parabembras'' in the family Bembridae with the other deepwater flatheads but other authorities classify it within its own monotypic family, the Parabembradidae. Parabembradidae was first proposed as a family in 1925, with the name then being Parabembridae, by the American ichthyologists

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 ...

and

Carl Leavitt Hubbs Carl Leavitt Hubbs (October 19, 1894 – June 30, 1979) was an American ichthyologist. Biography Early life Carl Leavitt Hubbs was born in Williams, Arizona, to Charles Leavitt and Elizabeth () Hubbs. His father had a wide variety of jobs (far ...

Species

The currently recognized species in this genus are: with a new species described in 2018. * '' Parabembras curta'' (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) - northwestern Pacific * '' Parabembras multisquamata'' Kai, Fricke, 2018 - southwestern Pacific and the Philippines * '' Parabembras robinsoni'' Regan, 1921 (African deep-water flathead) - southwestern Indian Ocean

Etymology

''Parabembras'' combines ''para'', meaning "near", with ''

Bembras ''Bembras'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the 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 monotypic genus i ...

'', the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

of the Bembridae and the original genus of ''P. curta''.

Characteristics

Parabembras differs from the other Bembrid genera by having 3 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 ...

whereas the others have none. The lower jaw protrudes past the lower and the maxilla is narrow to its rear. These flatheads vary in size from ''P. curta'', which has a maximum published

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 ...

of , to ''P. robinsoni'', which has 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 ...

of .

Distribution and habitat

''Parabembras'' deepwater flatheads are found in the southwestern Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific Ocean. They are demersal to bathydemersal fishes living down to depths of .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13999358 Bembridae Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker