''Synaptura'' 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 ...
of
soles. Most species are found in salt and
brackish
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...
water 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 ...
and tropical East Atlantic, but ''S. salinarum'' is restricted to fresh water in Australia. The largest species in the genus reaches a length of .
[
]Paul Chabanaud
Paul Chabanaud (30 November 1876, in Versailles – 27 February 1959) was a French ichthyologist and herpetologist.
Beginning in 1915, he worked as a volunteer under zoologist Louis Roule at the ''Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle'' in Paris. ...
retained the genus named ''Synaptura'' for this group and he designated ''Pleuronectes commersonnii'' as its type species. This designation is incorrect according to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted Convention (norm), convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific name, scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the I ...
and ''Synaptura'' as designated by Theodore Edward Cantor
Theodore Edward Cantor () (1809–1860) was a Danish physician, zoologist and botanist. He described several new species of reptiles and amphibians, and six species have been named in his honor.
Cantor was born to a Danish Jewish family; his m ...
is a synonym of '' Brachirus''. Due to this some workers have assigned the species previously assigned to ''Synaptura'', as raised by Chabanaud to ''Dagetichthys
''Dagetichthys'' is a genus of soles. They are found in salt and brackish water in the East Atlantic and Eastern Indian Ocean, but ''D. lakdoensis'' is restricted to fresh water in Cameroon.
Taxonomy
''Dagetichthys'' was previously a monotypic ...
'', a previously monotypic
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 "unisp ...
genus which contained just '' Dagetichthys lakdoensis''. This more broadly defined ''Dagetichthys'' for a monophyletic
In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria:
# the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
clade
In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...
. '' Buglossidium luteum'' seems to be the most closely related taxon to ''Dagetichthys''.
Species
There are currently five recognized species in this genus:
References
Soleidae
Ray-finned fish genera
Taxa named by Theodore Edward Cantor
{{Pleuronectiformes-stub