Pomadasys macracanthus, the longspined grunt or Mexican gray perch, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is native to the Eastern Pacific from Mexico to Ecuador.[2]
| Pomadasys macracanthus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Haemulidae |
| Genus: | Pomadasys |
| Species: | P. macracanthus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pomadasys macracanthus (Günther, 1864)
| |
| Synonyms[2][3] | |
| |
Description edit
Pomadasys macracanthus has a body which is oblong and laterally compressed, its depth being over one-third its standard length. The overall colour is silvery marked with 4 or 5 vague dark bars on their flanks, these may have faded completely in adults, and a dark spot on the upper angle of the operculum.[4] The dorsal profile of the head is straight and the small mouth is positioned terminally.[5] The dorsal fin is deeply notched and contains 12-14 spines and 13-14 soft rays[2] while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 7-8 soft rays. The pectoral fins are rather long extending as far as the anus. They whole fish is covered with scales.[5] This species attains a maximum total length of 37 cm (15 in), although 20 cm (7.9 in) is more typical.[2]
Distribution edit
Pomadasys macracanthus is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Its range extends from southern Baja California and the Gulf of California, south along the Pacific coast of Central and South America to Ecuador.[1]
Habitat and biology edit
Pomadasys macracanthus primarily lives in the littoral zone of the coastal marine environment,[6] but has been known to enter estuaries.[7] In the Golfo de Nicoya in Costa Rica the longspined grunt is regarded as an transient species which visits the area to use two mangrove areas.[1] Their diet consists of mobile, benthic invertebrates such as cephalopods, gastropods, crustaceans and annelids.[4]
Systematics edit
Pomadasys macracanthus was first formally described in 1864 as Pristipoma macracanthum by the German-born British zoologist Albert Günther (1830-1914) with the type locality given as Chiapas in Mexico.[8] The specific name macracanthus means “long” or “strong” spined.[9] This species is placed in the genus Rhencus by some authorities, along with Pomadasys panamensis.[3]
Utilisation edit
Pomadasys macracanthus is important to commercial fisheries, especially in the Gulf of Montijo in Panama.[1] Although the longspined grunt is not a true perch, it has been marketed for classroom science dissections in North America as the "Mexican gray perch," offering an apparent marine counterpart to the commonly dissected yellow perch.[10]
References edit
- ^ a b c d Allen, G.; Robertson, R. (2010). "Pomadasys macracanthus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T183313A8091810. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T183313A8091810.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Pomadasys macranthus" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
- ^ a b Paolo Parenti (2019). "An annotated checklist of the fishes of the family Haemulidae (Teleostei: Perciformes)" (PDF). Iranian Journal of Ichthyology. 6 (3): 150–196.
- ^ a b "Species: Pomadasys macracanthus, Longspine grunt". Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Longspine Grunt, Pomadasys macracanthus". Mexican Fish. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ Guía OCDE-FAO para las cadenas de suministro responsable en el sector agrícola. 2017-10-31. doi:10.1787/9789264261358-es. ISBN 9789264261341.
- ^ Fischer W, Krupp F, Schneider W, Sommer C, Carpenter KE, Niem VH (1995). Pacífico centro-oriental Volumen III. Vertebrados - Parte 2. Guía FAO para la Identificación de Especies para los Fines de la Pesca. Rome: Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación. ISBN 92-5-303675-3. Retrieved 2019-04-16 – via www.fao.org.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Pomadasys". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf; Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (5 January 2021). "Order LUTJANIFORMES: Families HAEMULIDAE and LUTJANIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "Perch, pail of 100". west lab. Retrieved 5 April 2021.