''Pterycombus'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of
pomfret distinguished by greatly elongated dorsal and anal fins. Along with the genus ''
Pteraclis'', these fishes are commonly referred to as fanfishes. ''Pterycombus'' can be distinguished from ''Pteraclis'' by examining the dorsal and anal fin rays, which should be relatively uniform in thickness to neighboring rays and by a lack of scales anterior to the dorsal fin.
Species
Currently, there are two recognized species in this genus:
* ''
Pterycombus brama'', Atlantic fanfish
( Fries, 1837)
* ''
Pterycombus petersii'', prickly fanfish
( Hilgendorf, 1878)
Species Distinction
''Pterycombus brama'' can be distinguished from ''Pterycombus petersii'' by measuring the length of the longest dorsal and anal fin rays. In ''P. brama'', the longest ray will be greater than half standard length, but will be less than half standard length in ''P. petersii''.
These two species can also be distinguished by geographic location. ''P. brama'' is generally distributed throughout the North and Central Atlantic Ocean, while ''P. petersii'' inhabits Pacific waters from Southern Africa to the Indo-Pacific. However, ''P. petersii'' has recently been found in the eastern North Pacific off the coast of
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...
,
suggesting that it may have a greater distribution throughout Pacific waters.
References
Bramidae
{{Perciformes-stub