Bembradium is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Bembridae, the deepwater flatheads. These fishes are found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

Bembradium
B. roseum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Bembridae
Genus: Bembradium
C. H. Gilbert, 1905
Type species
Bembradium roseum
Gilbert, 1905[1]

Taxonomy edit

Bembradium was first proposed as a genus by the American ichthyologist Charles Henry Gilbert in 1905 when he described the new species, Bembradium roseum, from the Pailolo channel in the Hawaiian Islands. He designated his new species as the type species of the new monotypic genus. Subsequently the French ichthyologists Pierre Fourmanoir and Jacques Rivaton described a second species, B. furici, from the Isle of Pines in the Province Sud on Grande Terre in New Caledonia in 1979. In 2019 a third species was described from the Andaman Sea.[1][2] In the 5th edition of Fishes of the World the genus is classified within the family Bembridae, the deep water flatheads.[3] Other authorities classify the genus in the family Plectrogeniidae.[1]

Species edit

There are currently 3 recognized species in this genus:[4]

Etymology edit

The genus name means “like Bembras”, the type genus of Bembridae.[5]

Characteristics edit

Bembradium is diagnosed as a genus by the front part of the head behind very flattened, becoming less flattened to the rear. The lower jaw does not protrude. The suborbital ridge bears many spines. The origin of the pectoral fins is behind a vertical line through the origin of the pelvic fins. The lateral line runs through the centre of the flanks. The scales on the body are large.[6] These are small fishes in which the maximum published standard length is around 11.5 cm (4.5 in).[4]

Distribution and habitat edit

Bembradium deepwater flatheads are found in the Indo-Pacific region from the Andaman Sea to Hawaii. They are found in deep water.[2][6]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Plectrogeniidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Nembradium". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  3. ^ J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 467–495. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  4. ^ a b Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2022). Species of Bembradium in FishBase. February 2022 version.
  5. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (7 December 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 11): Suborder Platycephaloidei: Families Bembridae, Parabembridae, Hoplichthyidae, Platycephalidae and Plectrogeniidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  6. ^ a b Saki Kishimoto; Toshio Kawai; Fumihito Tashiro; and Charatsee Aungtonya (2019). "Description of a new species of Bembradium (Scorpaeniformes: Bembridae) from the Andaman Sea, Thailand". Phuket Marine Biological Center Research Bulletin. 76: 9–17.