Littlehead porgy

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Littlehead porgy
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Spariformes
Family: Sparidae
Genus: Calamus
Species:
C. proridens
Binomial name
Calamus proridens

The littlehead porgy (Calamus proridens) is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sparidae, the seabreams and porgies. It is only found in the western portion of the tropical Atlantic Ocean, where they are often caught and used as food.[2][3]

Taxonomy[edit]

The Littlehead porgy was first formally described in 1884 by the Ichthyologists David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert with its type locality given as Key West in Florida.[4] The genus Calamus is placed in the family Sparidae within the order Spariformes by the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.[5] Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Sparinae,[6] but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.[5]

Etymology[edit]

The littlehead porgy has the specific name proridens which is combination of prora, meaning prow" and dens, which means "teeth". This is an allusion to the large canine-like teeth on either side of the upper jaw in adults, these are diagonally pointing downwards and outwards.[7]

Description[edit]

While maturing, Littlehead porgies usually reach between 17 and 22 cm in length. Fully grown adults are commonly 37 cm,[3] although they have been recorded to grow up to 46 cm.[8] When compared to other members of their genus, they can be distinguished by having small scales, and relatively deep bodies with steep profiles.[9] The molar-like teeth, that all porgies have, are more similar to canines in this species.[9] Littlehead porgies are generally silver in color, with violet spots on their scales that form stripes on their upper bodies.[9] These stripes are then crossed by darker bars of color.[9] The Littlehead porgy has been described as one of the most brightly colored members of the porgy family, which contains well over 100 species in 37 genera.[10]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

Littlehead porgies are often found near coral reefs, such as this one near Key Largo.

Known only from the western Atlantic Ocean, Littlehead porgies are found off the northeast coast of Florida and in the northern Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean,[11] south to the Bay of Campeche, which lies to the west of the Yucatan peninsula,[12] and northern South America.[13] They are normally associated with reefs, and can be found on hard spongey or coral bottoms where they feed primarily on invertebrates, such as crustaceans,[9][14] and often migrate cyclically between feeding and spawning grounds.[15] The Littlehead porgy can be preyed upon by seabirds such as the Sooty tern.[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Russell, B.; Carpenter, K.E. & MacDonald, T. (2014). "Calamus proridens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T170182A1288591. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T170182A1288591.en. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  2. ^ Ackerman Bill. Handbook of Fishes of the Atlantic Seaboard. 1951 Washington DC. American Publishing Company. p. 58
  3. ^ a b Randall, J.E. and R. Vergara R. 1978 Sparidae. In W. Fischer (ed.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Western Central Atlantic (Fishing Area 31). FAO, Rome. Vol. 5. pag.var. fao.org
  4. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Calamus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Parenti, P. (2019). "An annotated checklist of the fishes of the family Sparidae". FishTaxa. 4 (2): 47–98.
  7. ^ "Order SPARIFORMES: Families LETHRINIDAE, NEMIPTERIDAE and SPARIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  8. ^ Robins, C. R. and G. C. Ray 1986 A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. p. 354
  9. ^ a b c d e La Monte Francesca. Marine Game Fishes of the World. 1952. Garden City, NY. Doubleday & Company, INC. p. 113
  10. ^ Breder Charles, M. Field book of the Marine Fishes of the Atlantic Coast; From Labrador to Texas. New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons. p. 183
  11. ^ California Academy of Sciences collection data
  12. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2010). "Calamus poridens" in FishBase. 04 2010 version.
  13. ^ Anonymous 1999 Fish collection database of the Natural History Museum, London (formerly British Museum of Natural History (BMNH)). Natural History Museum, London (formerly British Museum of Natural History (BMNH)).
  14. ^ Vaught Shaffer, R. and E.L. Nakamura 1989 Synopsis of biological data on the cobia Rachycentron canadum (Pisces: Rachycentridae). NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS 82, FAO Fisheries Synopsis 153.
  15. ^ Riede, K. 2004 Global register of migratory species - from global to regional scales. Final Report of the R&D-Projekt 808 05 081. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Bonn, Germany. p. 329
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