Rhabdosargus thorpei, the bigeye stumpnose, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sparidae, which includes the seabreams and porgies. The bigeye stumpnose is endemic to the southwestern Indian Ocean.
| Rhabdosargus thorpei | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Spariformes |
| Family: | Sparidae |
| Genus: | Rhabdosargus |
| Species: | R. thorpei
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| Binomial name | |
| Rhabdosargus thorpei M. M. Smith, 1979
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Taxonomy edit
Rhabdosargus thorpei was first formally described in 1979 by the South African ichthyologist Margaret Mary Smith with its type locality given as Mabibi in KwaZulu-Natal.[2] The genus Rhabdosargus is placed in the family Sparidae within the order Spariformes by the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.[3] Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Sparinae,[4] but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.[3]
Etymology edit
Rhabdosargus thorpei belongs to the genus Rhabdosargus, a name which is a refixes rhabdos, meaning "stick" or "rod", an allusion to the yellow abdominal band of Sargus auriventris, its type species, to Sargos, a name used for Sparid fish in ancient Greek at least as long ago as Aristotle but in this case is a reference to Sargus as a synonym of Diplodus. The specific name, thorpei, honours Anthony R. Thorpe, a lawyer and the Records Officer of the South African Angling Union, Thorpe caught the Type specimen and drew Smith’s attention to it.[5]
Description edit
Rhabdosargus thorpei has 11 spines and 13 soft rays supporting the dorsal fin while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 12 soft rays. The moderately deep, compressed body has a depth that fits into its standard length 1.9 to 2.1 times. The dorsal profile of the head is smoothly convex to the origin of the dorsal fin, except for a bulge in front of the relatively large eyes. The overall colour of the body is slivery bluish, with yellow tints and yellow lines running along the scale rows. The breast and belly between the pectoral fins and the anal fin is yellow.[6] This species has a maximum published total length of 40 cm (16 in), although 30 cm (12 in) is more typical,[7] with a maximum weight of 4 kg (8.8 lb), although 2 kg (4.4 lb) is more typical.[1]
Distribution and habitat edit
Rhabdosargus thorpei is endemicto the southwestern Indian Ocean where it is found aling the southeastern African coast between the Eastern Cape and southern Mozambique, possible as far north as Xai-Xai, off Europa Island in the Mozambique Channel and around southern Madagascar.[1] The bigeye stumpnose is mainly taken in inshore waters in the surf zone and where there are shallow rocky and coral reefs. It can be found as deep as around 70 m (230 ft). The juveniles shoal in subtropical estuaries which they use as nursery areas.[8]
Biology edit
Rhabdosargus thorpei has a diet that consists largely of molluscs and crustaceans.[8]
References edit
- ^ a b c Mann, B.Q.; Buxton, C.D.; Russell, B.; Pollard, D. & Carpenter, K.E. (2014). "Rhabdosargus thorpei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T170164A1285475. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T170164A1285475.en. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Rhabdosargus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ a b Nelson, J.S.; Grande, T.C.; Wilson, M.V.H. (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 502–506. doi:10.1002/9781119174844. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. LCCN 2015037522. OCLC 951899884. OL 25909650M.
- ^ Parenti, P. (2019). "An annotated checklist of the fishes of the family Sparidae". FishTaxa. 4 (2): 47–98.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf (12 January 2024). "Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 6): Families GERREIDAE, LETHRINIDAE, NEMIPTERIDAE and SPARIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ Yukio Iwatsuki and Phillip C Heemstra (2022). "Family Sparidae". In Phillip C Heemstra; Elaine Heemstra; David A Ebert; Wouter Holleman; and John E Randall (eds.). Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean (PDF). Vol. 3. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. pp. 284–315. ISBN 978-1-990951-32-9.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2023). "Rhabdosargus thorpei" in FishBase. October 2023 version.
- ^ a b "Rhabdosargus thorpei W Smith, 1979". Red List of South African Species. South African National Biodiversity Institute. December 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
External links edit
- Coastal Fishes of Southern Africa. Phil & Elaine Heemstra. 2004. ISBN 1-920033-01-7
- http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Rhabdosargus-thorpei.html
- http://eol.org/pages/213638/overview Archived 11 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine