''Parascolopsis rufomaculata'', the red-spot dwarf monocle bream or yellowband monocle bream, is a species 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 ...

Nemipteridae Nemipteridae, the threadfin breams, whiptail breams, or Sultan Ibrahim, is a family of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes. These fishes are found in the Indo-West Pacific region. Taxonomy Nemipteridae was first proposed ...

, the threadfin breams. This species is found in the eastern Indian Ocean.

Taxonomy

''Parascolopsis rufomaculata'' was first formally described in 1986 by the Australian

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 ...

Barry C. Russell with its type locality given as the

North West Shelf The North West Shelf is a continental shelf region of Western Australia. It includes an extensive oil and gas region off the North West Australia coast in the Pilbara region. Geology Considerable parts of the region are the highest prospecti ...

off

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. 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 ...

'' classifies the

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 ...

'' Parascolopsis'' within the family Nemipteridae which it places in 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

''Parascolopsis rufomaculata'' has the

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''rufomaculata'' which means "red spotted", an allusion to the red spot on the dorsal fin of fresh specimens. Russell originally used the

masculine Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some beh ...

suffix ''-us'' but ''Parascolopsis'' is feminine.

Description

''Parascolopsis rufomaculata'' has its

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 ...

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 7 soft rays. The scales on the head extend forward on to the intraorbital area. The rear margin of the

preoperculum This glossary of ichthyology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in ichthyology, the study of fishes. A B C ...

is sloped forward and has a scaleless lower limb. The rear edge of the suborbital has very small teeth. 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 moderately long, extending as far as or just falling short of the level of the anus while 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 are short, not reaching as far as the level of the anus. The dominant colour of the body is rosypink above the midlateral line and pearly white below it. There is a longitudinallight gold band running underneath 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 ...

from the upper angle of the operculum to the

caudal peduncle 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 ...

, below this is a pale pink band and then another indistinct gold band. The dorsal fin is pale yellow with a red spot between its eighth and tenth spines. The pectoral fin has a yellowish base and all of the other fins are hyaline. This species 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 , although is more typical This fish is very similar to its close relative '' P. tanyactis'', except for the fact that the fourth and fifth dorsal rays are not elongated, and it has a broad golden stripe along the middle of its back.

Distribution and habitat

''Parascolopsis rufomaculata'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the eastern Indian Ocean and was thought to occur only off Northwestern Australia between

Dirk Hartog Island Dirk Hartog Island is an island off the Gascoyne (Western Australia), Gascoyne coast of Western Australia, within the Shark Bay, Western Australia, Shark Bay World Heritage Area. It is about long and between wide and is Western Australia's ...

and the

Timor Sea The Timor Sea (, , or ) is a relatively shallow sea in the Indian Ocean bounded to the north by the island of Timor with Timor-Leste to the north, Indonesia to the northwest, Arafura Sea to the east, and to the south by Australia. The Sunda Tr ...

but in 2018

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

s were collected from off southern

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. It is a

bathydemersal Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of ocean, 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 T ...

fish found at depths between in offshore waters, although the Javan specimens were collected at shallower depths.

References

* Yellowband Monocle Bream, Parascolopsis rufomaculatus Russell 1986 @ fishesofaustralia.net.au
/small> {{Taxonbar, from=Q3489688 rufomaculata Taxa named by Barry C. Russell Fish described in 1986