# Bahaba

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***Bahaba*** is a [genus](/source/Genus) of marine [ray-finned fishes](/source/Ray-finned_fish) belonging to the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Sciaenidae](/source/Sciaenidae), the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the [Indo-West Pacific](/source/Indo-West-Pacific) region.

## Taxonomy

*Bahaba* was first proposed as a [monotypic](/source/Monotypic_taxon) [subgenus](/source/Subgenus) of the genus *[Otolithes](/source/Otolithes)* in 1935 by the American [ichthyologist](/source/Ichthyologist) [Albert William Herre](/source/Albert_William_Herre) with its [type species](/source/Type_species) being *Otolithes (Bahaba) lini*. In 1977 [Ethelwynn Trewavas](/source/Ethelwynn_Trewavas) treated it as a valid genus in her paper called *The sciaenid fishes (croakers or drums) of the Indo-West-Pacific* published in the *[Transactions of the Zoological Society of London](/source/Transactions_of_the_Zoological_Society_of_London)* and most authorities now treat the genus as valid.[1] Trewavas also stated that Herre's *Otolithes lini* was a [junior synonym](/source/Junior_synonym) of *Nibea taipingensis*, which Herre had [described](/source/Species_description) in 1932.[2] *Bahaba* belongs to the family Sciaenidae in the [order](/source/Order_(biology)) [Acanthuriformes](/source/Acanthuriformes).[3] Some authorities place *Bahaba* in the [subfamily](/source/Subfamily) Pseudosciaeninae[4] but subfamilies are not recognised within Sciaenidae by *Fishes of the World*.[3]

## Etymology

*Bahaba* is the word used in the [Samal language](/source/Sama%E2%80%93Bajaw_languages) of the [Sulu](/source/Sulu) region of [Mindanao](/source/Mindanao) in the Philippines for drums and croakers.[5]

## Species

The currently recognized species in this genus are:[6]

- *[Bahaba chaptis](/source/Bahaba_chaptis)* [F. Hamilton](/source/Francis_Buchanan-Hamilton), 1822 (Chaptis bahaba)
- *[Bahaba polykladiskos](/source/Bahaba_polykladiskos)* [Bleeker](/source/Pieter_Bleeker), 1897 (spine bahaba)
- *[Bahaba taipingensis](/source/Bahaba_taipingensis)* [Herre](/source/Albert_William_Herre), 1932 (Chinese bahaba)

## Characteristics

*Bahaba* is distinguished from other sciaenids by the form of their [swim bladder](/source/Swim_bladder) which has unbranched horn-like or tube-like appendages which start at the anterior end of the swim bladder and are directed to the rear.[7] The Chinese bahaba is the largest species, having a maximum published [total length](/source/Total_length) of 200 cm (79 in) while that of the chaptis bahaba is 50 cm (20 in) and the spine bahaba is 40 cm (16 in).[6]

## Distribution and habitat

*Bahaba* is found in the [Indo-West Pacific](/source/Indo-West_Pacific) with one species in the coastal Bay of Bengal,[8] one [endemic](/source/Endemism) to the coastal waters of southern China[9] and the third in [Southeast Asia](/source/Southeast_Asia).[10]

## References

1. J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). [*Fishes of the World*](https://web.archive.org/web/20190408194051/https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/). 5th ed. Wiley. pp. 497–502. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. Archived from [the original](https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/) on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2023-04-24.

1. Wei He; Wei-Hua Lu; Xi-Guo Li et al. (2012). "Taxonomic status of Chinese bahaba (*Bahaba taipingensis*) and its phylogenetic relationship with other species in the family Sciaenidae". *Mitochondrial DNA*. **23** (2): 53–61. [doi:10.3109/19401736.2011.653797](https://doi.org/10.3109/19401736.2011.653797). [PMID 22397374](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22397374)

1. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (eds.) (9 March 2023). ["Series Eupercaria (Incertae sedis): Families Callanthidae, Centrogenyidae, Dinopercidae, Emmelichthyidae, Malacanthidae, Monodactylidae, Moronidae, Parascorpididae, Sciaenidae and Sillagidae"](https://web.archive.org/web/20220217162719/https://etyfish.org/eupercaria/). *The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database*. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Archived from [the original](https://etyfish.org/eupercaria/) on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2023.

1. K. Sasaki (2001). ["Sciaenidae"](https://www.fao.org/3/y0770e/y0770e34.pdf). *The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific Volume 5: Bony fishes part 3 (Menidae to Pomacentridae)*. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. Carpenter, K.E. & Neim, Volker H. (eds.). FAO Rome. p. 3117.

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