''Scatophagus'' 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 ...

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 ...

Scatophagidae Scatophagidae, the scats are a small family of ray-finned fishes in the order Perciformes. They are found in the Indo-Pacific region but one species has been introduced elsewhere. Taxonomy Scatophagidae was first formally described as a family ...

. They are found in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region. Species in this genus are referred as ''spotted scats''.

Taxonomy

''Scatophagus'' was first formally described as a genus in 1831 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 ...

with ''Chaetodon argus'' which had been described from India by Linnaeus in 1766 later designated as the

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 ...

. The genus name is a compound of ''skatos'' meaning "dung" and ''phaga'' which means to eat, a reference to this species purported taste for human faeces.

Species

The genus ''Scatophagus'' contains two extant species: * ''

Scatophagus argus ''Scatophagus argus'', the spotted scat, butterfish, mia mia, spotted butterfish or tiger scat, is a species of fish in the scat family Scatophagidae. It occurs in two basic color morphs which are called green scat and ruby or red scat. This fis ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1766) (Spotted scat) * '' Scatophagus tetracanthus'' ( Lacépède, 1802) (African scat) Several fossil species (''Scatophagus frontalis''

Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he recei ...

, 1839 from the

Early Eocene In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by th ...

, ''Scatophagus capellinii''

Bassani Bassani is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Axel Bassani (born 1999), Italian motorcycle racer * Edvin Liverić-Bassani (born 1970), Croatian theatre, television, film actor, pancer, performer and cultural manager * ...

, 1889 from the

Early Oligocene The Rupelian is, in the geologic timescale, the older of two age (geology), ages or the lower of two stage (stratigraphy), stages of the Oligocene epoch (geology), Epoch/series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans the time between . It is preceded b ...

) from Italy were previously placed in this genus. However, more recent studies indicate that while they are scats, they are unique enough belong to their own genera, and have thus placed them in '' Eoscatophagus'' and '' Oligoscatophagus''.Karl Albert Frickhinger: Fossilien Atlas Fische, Mergus-Verlag, Melle, 1999, Scatophagus frontalis

Characteristics

''Scatophagus'' species have highly compressed, rectangular bodies. The dorsal profile of the head rises steeply to the nape, they have a rounded snout, as is the space between the eyes. The small mouth is horizontal, and cannot be protruded, and has several rows of small bristle like teeth on the jaws teeth in several rows. There are no teeth on the roof of the mouth. 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 ...

has 11-12 robust spines and 16-18 soft rays, the first spine lies flat and there is a deep incision between the spiny and soft rayed parts of the fin. 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 4 robust spines and 13-16 soft rays and the relatively small

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 have 16-17 rays. 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 ...

may be truncate or weakly emarginate. although it is rounded in juveniles. The head and the body are covered with tiny

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 and these reach the soft rayed parts of the dorsal and anal fins. There are no spines or serrations on the opercular bones. They are silvery or greenish in colour marked with darker spots or bars. The scats vary in maximum

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 ...

from for ''S. tetracanthus'' up to for '' S. argus''.

Distribution and habitat

''Scatophagus'' fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific from the coast of East Africa east into the western Pacific Ocean north to Japan, south to Australia and east to the

Society Islands The Society Islands ( , officially ; ) are an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean that includes the major islands of Tahiti, Mo'orea, Moorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Huahine. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country ...

. One species, ''S.argus'', has become an established

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

off Malta and has been recorded occasionally off

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. They are found in sheltered habitats in coastal areas, including in brackish water and even into freshwater rivers.

Biology

''Scatophagus'' fishes feed on a diverse diet which includes small invertebrates, algae, detritus and refuse. They are venomous, a gland on the lateral line produces venom and a groove takes this onto the spines. If envenomated the wound is painful and may ache for a number of hours.

Utilisation

''Scatophagus'' scats are caught using

gill net Gillnetting is a fishing method that uses gillnets: vertical panels of netting that hang from a line with regularly spaced floaters that hold the line on the surface of the water. The floats are sometimes called "corks" and the line with corks is ...

s and traps and may be marketed fresh or salted. They feature in the live fish market in Hong Kong and are used in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

. They also appear in the

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

trade.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Taxa named by Georges Cuvier Perciformes genera