''Pempheris affinis'', the black-tipped bullseye, 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 ...

in 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 ...

Pempheridae, the sweepers. It is from the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

Description

''Pempheris affinis'' the characteristic profile of species within 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 ...

Pempheris ''Pempheris'' is a genus of sweepers native to the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. Species There are currently more than 70 recognized species in this genus: * '' Pempheris adspersa'' Griffin, 1927 (New Zealand bigeye) * '' Pempheris adusta ...

'' with a large head, nearly straight back and a rapidly tapering lower body, the body being deeply compressed and having a covering of small

ctenoid A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as w ...

scales. Its eyes are very large, as is the obliquely angled mouth and a large obliquely-angled mouth. The body is greyish above with yellow or silvery flanks and it has black tips to the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

and

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 ...

as well as a black margin to 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 ...

. There are 5 spines and 10-11 soft rays in the

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 ...

while the

has 3 spines and 38-42 soft rays. This species is

Bioluminescent Bioluminescence is the emission of light during a chemiluminescence reaction by living organisms. Bioluminescence occurs in multifarious organisms ranging from marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms inc ...

. They can attain a

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

''Pempheris affinis'' 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 eastern Australia where it is found from

Hervey Bay Hervey Bay () is a city on the coast of the Fraser Coast Region of Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately or 3½ hours' highway drive north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is located on the bay of the same name open to ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

in the north south to, at least, Montague Island in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Habitat and biology

''Pempheris affinis'' is found on rocky reefs down to at least in depth. In the day it is frequently recorded in aggregations in caves and under ledges. This is a nocturnal species. In places this fish can be so abundant it forms dense shoals which an observer may be unable to see through. It forms mixed schls with the smallscale bullseye '' P. compressa''.

Species description

''Pempheris affinis'' was first formally described in 1911 by Allan Riverstone McCulloch with the type locality given as

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

, New South Wales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2296523 affinis Fish described in 1911