''Stellifer'' 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 ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

in the family

Sciaenidae Sciaenidae is a family (biology), family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the Order (biology), order Acanthuriformes. They are commonly called drums or croakers in reference to the repetitive throbbing or drumming sounds they make. The family co ...

, the drums and croakers. It is found in

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

waters.Chao, N. L. (2001)
Two new species of ''Stellifer'' from inshore waters of the eastern Pacific, with a redescription of ''S. ephelis'' (Perciformes: Sciaenidae).
''Rev. Biol. Trop.'' 49 Supl. 1 67-80. Many species are known commonly as stardrums. In the Americas, this is one of the most diverse genera among the sciaenids. Its members can be found in the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and

subtropics The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately ...

and in shallow and deeper waters. Some are semianadromous, spawning in the ocean near

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

so the eggs and young will be taken into lower-salinity environments on the

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

s.Pombo, M., et al. (2012)
Population biology of ''Stellifer rastrifer'', ''S. brasiliensis'' and ''S. stellifer'' in Caraguatatuba Bay, northern coast of São Paulo, Brazil.
''Brazilian Journal of Oceanography'' 60(3) 271-82. The genus belongs to the subfamily Stelliferinae, whose members have double-chambered

swim bladder The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled organ (anatomy), organ in bony fish that functions to modulate buoyancy, and thus allowing the fish to stay at desired water depth without having to maintain lift ...

s (the smaller front chamber is "yoke-shaped" and the main chamber is "carrot-shaped") and two pairs of large

otolith An otolith (, ' ear + , ', a stone), also called otoconium, statolith, or statoconium, is a calcium carbonate structure in the saccule or utricle (ear), utricle of the inner ear, specifically in the vestibular system of vertebrates. The saccule ...

s. These fish are very common in their range, and there are usually at least two species occurring together. ''

Stellifer rastrifer ''Stellifer'' is a genus of fish in the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. It is found in New World waters.Chao, N. L. (2001)Two new species of ''Stellifer'' from inshore waters of the eastern Pacific, with a redescription of ''S. ephelis ...

'' is one of the most abundant sciaenids in the seas along the coast of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. These fish are carnivorous, with diet assessments of a few different species finding

mysids Mysida is an order of small, shrimp-like crustaceans in the malacostracan superorder Peracarida. Their common name opossum shrimps stems from the presence of a brood pouch or "marsupium" in females. The fact that the larvae are reared in this p ...

such as '' Mysidopsis coelhoi'',

copepod Copepods (; meaning 'oar-feet') are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (living in the water column), some are benthos, benthic (living on the sedimen ...

s such as ''

Acartia lilljeborgii ''Acartia'' is a genus of marine calanoid copepods. They are epipelagic, estuarine, zooplanktonic found throughout the oceans of the world, primarily in temperate regions. Classification This genus contains the majority of species in the fam ...

'' and '' Pseudodiaptomus acutus'', sergestoid prawns such as '' Peisos petrunkevitchi'',

amphipods Amphipoda () is an order (biology), order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods () range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 10,700 amphip ...

chaetognaths The Chaetognatha or chaetognaths (meaning ''bristle-jaws'') are a phylum of predatory marine worms that are a major component of plankton worldwide. Commonly known as arrow worms, they are mostly pelagic; however about 20% of the known species ...

isopods Isopoda is an Order (biology), order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called isopods and include both Aquatic animal, aquatic species and Terrestrial animal, terrestrial species such as woodlice. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons ...

cumacea Cumacea is an order (biology), order of small marine crustaceans of the superorder Peracarida, occasionally called hooded shrimp or comma shrimp. Their unique appearance and uniform body plan makes them easy to distinguish from other crustaceans. ...

ns,

ostracod Ostracods, or ostracodes, are a Class (biology), class of the crustacean, Crustacea (class Ostracoda), sometimes known as seed shrimp. Some 33,000 species (only 13,000 of which are extant taxon, extant) have been identified,Brandão, S.N.; Antoni ...

s, ascidian tunicates,

nematode The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitic. Parasitic worms (h ...

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine Annelid, annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called c ...

, and

bivalves Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed by a calcified exoskeleton consis ...

, or at least their siphons.Pombo, M., et al. (2013)
Seasonality, dietary overlap and the role of taxonomic resolution in the study of the diet of three congeneric fishes from a tropical bay.
PLoS ONE 8(2) e56107. ''S. rastrifer'' is known to

cannibalize Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is also well document ...

juveniles of its own species.Camargo, M. and V. Isaac. (2004)
Food categories reconstruction and feeding consumption estimates for the sciaenid ''Macrodon ancylodon'' (Bloch & Schneider), and the congeneric fishes ''Stellifer rastrifer'' (Jordan) and ''Stellifer naso'' (Jordan) (Pisces, Perciformes) in the Caeté Estuary, northern coast of Brazil.
''Revista Brasileira de Zoologia'' 21(1) 85-89. Several species are common

bycatch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...

in the seabob shrimp industry.

Taxonomy

''Stellifer'' was first proposed as a

monospecific genus 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 "unispe ...

in 1817 by

Lorenz Oken Lorenz Oken (1 August 1779 – 11 August 1851) was a Germans, German natural history, naturalist, botany, botanist, biologist, and ornithology, ornithologist. Biography Oken was born Lorenz Okenfuss () in Bohlsbach (now part of Offenburg), Ortena ...

, based on ''Les Stelliferes'' of

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 ...

of 1816. The only species then in the genus was ''Bodianus stellifer'' which had been described in 1789 by Marcus Elieser Bloch with its type locality being given as the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

in South Africa, although this is likely to be Suriname. ''

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

'' treats this genus and '' Ophioscion'' as separate valid genera, while ''

Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes is a comprehensive on-line database and reference work on the scientific names of fish species and genera. It is global in its scope and is hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. It has been compiled and is continuously up ...

'' treats ''Ophioscion'' as a synonym of ''Stellifer''. Some workers have placed this genus in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Stelliferinae. However, 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 ...

'' does not recognise tribes or subfamilies within the Sciaenidae 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 ...

Acanthuriformes Acanthuriformes is a large, diverse order of mostly marine ray-finned fishes, part of the Percomorpha clade. In the past, members of this clade were placed in the suborders Acanthuroidea and Percoidea of the order Perciformes, but this treatment ...

Species

''Stellifer'' contains the following recognized valid species: * '' Stellifer brasiliensis'' (

Schultz Schultz is a German and Dutch surname derived from ''Schultheiß'', meaning village headman or constable/sheriff in the medieval sense (akin to today's office of mayor). It has many variations, such as Schuldt, Schulte, Schulten, Schultes, Schul ...

, 1945) * '' Stellifer cervigoni'' Chao, Carvalho-Filho & Andrade Santos, 2021 (Black gill stardrum) * '' Stellifer chaoi'' Aguilera, Solano & Valdez, 1983 * '' Stellifer chrysoleuca'' ( Günther, 1867) (Shortnose stardrum) * '' Stellifer collettei'' Chao, Carvalho-Filho & Andrade Santos, 2021 (Bigmouth stardrum) * '' Stellifer colonensis''

Meek Meekness is an attribute of human nature and behavior that has been defined as an amalgam of righteousness, inner humility, and patience. Meekness has been contrasted with humility alone insomuch as humility simply refers to an attitude towards o ...

Hildebrand Hildebrand is a character from Germanic heroic legend. ''Hildebrand'' is the modern German form of the name: in Old High German it is ''Hiltibrant'' and in Old Norse ''Hildibrandr''. The word ''hild'' means "battle" and ''brand'' means "sword" ...

, 1925 (Stardrum) * '' Stellifer ephelis'' Chirichigno, 1974 * '' Stellifer ericymba'' (

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

& Gilbert, 1882) (Hollow stardrum) * '' Stellifer fuerthii'' (

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner descri ...

, 1875) (White stardrum) * '' Stellifer gomezi'' ( Cervigón, 2011) * '' Stellifer griseus'' Cervigón, 1966 (Gray stardrum) * '' Stellifer illecebrosus'' Gilbert, 1898 (Silver stardrum) * ''

Stellifer lanceolatus ''Stellifer'' is a genus of fish in the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. It is found in New World waters.Chao, N. L. (2001)Two new species of ''Stellifer'' from inshore waters of the eastern Pacific, with a redescription of ''S. ephelis ...

'' ( Holbrook, 1855) (American stardrum) * '' Stellifer macallisteri'' Chao, Carvalho-Filho & Andrade Santos, 2021 (Caribbean stardrum) * '' Stellifer magoi'' Aguilera, 1983 * '' Stellifer mancorensis'' Chirichigno, 1962 (Smooth stardrum) * '' Stellifer melanocheir''

Eigenmann Eigenmann () is a surname. Notable persons with that surname include: * Andi Eigenmann (born 1990), Filipino actress * Carl H. Eigenmann (1863–1927), German–American ichthyologist, husband of Rosa Eigenmann * Eduardo de Mesa Eigenmann, birth n ...

, 1918 (Black stardrum) * '' Stellifer menezesi'' Chao, Carvalho-Filho & Andrade Santos, 2021 (Brazilian stardrum) * '' Stellifer microps'' (Steindachner, 1864) (Smalleye stardrum) * '' Stellifer minor'' ( Tschudi, 1846) (Minor stardrum) * '' Stellifer musicki'' Chao, Carvalho-Filho & Andrade Santos, 2021 (Bigeye stardrum) * '' Stellifer naso'' (Jordan, 1889) * '' Stellifer oscitans'' (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882) (Yawning stardrum) * '' Stellifer pizarroensis'' Hildebrand, 1946 (Pizzaro stardrum) * ''

'' (Jordan, 1889) (Rake stardrum) * '' Stellifer stellifer'' (

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), Austrian entrepreneur *Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter *Alexandre Bloch (1857–1919), French painter *Alfred Bloch ( ...

, 1790) (Little croaker) * '' Stellifer venezuelae'' (Schultz, 1945) * '' Stellifer walkeri'' Chao, 2001 (Professor stardrum) * '' Stellifer wintersteenorum'' Chao, 2001 (Amigo stardrum) * '' Stellifer zestocarus'' Gilbert, 1898 (Softhead stardrum)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q149158 Sciaenidae Taxa named by Lorenz Oken