The bulldog dentex (''Virididentex acromegalus'') 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 ...

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 ...

Sparidae Sparidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes, the seabreams and porgies, although they were traditionally classified in the order Perciformes. The over 150 species are found in shallow and deep marine waters in t ...

, which includes the seabreams and porgies. The bulldog dentex is the only species in the

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 ...

''Virididentex'' and it 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 Cape Verde.

Taxonomy

The bulldog dentex was first formally described in 1911 as ''Dentex acromegalus'' by the Portuguese

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

Balthazar Osório with its type locality given as Ilha de Santo Antão in Cape Verde. In 1971

Max Poll Max Fernand Leon Poll (21 July 1908 in Ruisbroek – 13 March 1991 in Uccle) was a Belgian ichthyologist who specialised in the Cichlidae. In the years 1946 and 1947 he organised an expedition to Lake Tanganyika. He has described several spe ...

reclassified this species in the

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 ''Virididentex''. This taxon is classified in the family Sparidae within 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 ...

Spariformes Spariformes is an order of ray-finned fishes consisting of six families within the series Percomorpha. Taxonomy Spariformes was first used as a taxonomic term in 1860 by the Dutch physician, herpetologist and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker. Trad ...

by 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 ...

''. Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Denticinae, but the 5th edition of ''Fishes of the World'' does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.

Etymology

The bulldog dentex has the genus name ''Virididentex'' combines ''viridis'', meaning "green", with '' Dentex'', the genus it was proposed as a subgenus of, the green part almost certainly refers to Cape Verde. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''acromegalus'' combines ''acro'' meaning "at the tip", and ''megalus'', meaning "large", Osório did not explain this allusion, it mat refer to the protruding lower jaw.

Description

The bulldog dentex has an oblong compressed body, the dorsal profile of the head is convex at the nape and concave in front of the eyes. The eye is relatively small in size which has a diameter obviously less than the length of the snout. The scales on the crown extend froward beyond the front margin of the eyes. The oblique mouth has a protruding lower jaw. The teeth are

canine Canine may refer to: Zoology and anatomy * Animals of the family Canidae, more specifically the subfamily Caninae, which includes dogs, wolves, foxes, jackals and coyotes ** ''Canis'', a genus that includes dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals ** Do ...

-like and are arranged in several rows with the outermost row being the largest. 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 ...

is supported by 11 spines, the fourth or fifth spine being the longest, and 11 soft rays and 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 3 spines and 8 or 9 soft rays, the last ray on both these fins is long and filamentous. There is a wide flattened spine in the pelvic fins which also have an obvious axillary scale. The overall colour is uniform brownish with reddish, greenish or bluish tints, paler on the bellu and with reddish fins. This species a maximum published total length of , although is more typical.

Distribution and habitat

The bulldog dentex is endemic to Cape Verde where it is found at depths between over rocky substrates.

Taxonomy

Etymology

Description

Distribution and habitat

References

Further reading