Brama (fish)

{{Short description|Genus of fishes}} {{Automatic_taxobox | name = | image = Brama brama.jpg | image_caption = Atlantic pomfret ''(B. brama)'' | taxon = Brama | authority = [[Marcus Elieser Bloch|Bloch]] & [[Johann Gottlob Schneider|J. G. Schneider]], 1801 | type_species = ''[[Brama brama|Sparus raii]]'' | type_species_authority = Bloch, 1791 | synonyms = * ''Amblytoxotes'' [[Pieter Bleeker|Bleeker]], 1876 * ''Collybus'' [[John Otterbein Snyder|Snyder]], 1801 * ''Lepidotus'' [[Ignacio Jordán Claudio de Asso y del Río|Asso y del Rio]], 1801 * ''Lepodus'' [[Constantine Samuel Rafinesque|Rafinesque]], 1810 * ''Tylometopon'' Bleeker, 1872 | synonyms_ref= <ref name="CofF">{{cite web |last=Fricke |first=Ronald |author2=Eschmeyer, William N. |author3=Van der Laan, Richard |year=2024 |title=Bramidae |url=https://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/FamilySearch.asp |work=Catalog of Fishes |publisher=California Academy of Sciences |access-date=23 April 2026}}</ref> }}

'''''Brama''''' is a [[genus]] of marine [[ray-finned fish]]es from the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] Bramidae, the [[pomfret]]s. The genus currently comprises eight [[species]] (see below).

== Characteristics == Species of ''Brama'' have a compressed [[Fish anatomy|head and body]], the body forming a tapering oval shape with a slender [[Anatomical terms of location|caudal]] [[Peduncle (anatomy)|peduncle]].<ref name="Nelson2006">Nelson, Joseph S. (2006). ''Fishes of the World'' (4th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-25031-9.</ref>

The [[Anatomical terms of location|dorsal and ventral]] profiles of the head are smoothly convex, and the snout is short and bluntly rounded.<ref name="Mead1972">Mead, Giles W. (1972). "Bramidae". In Bigelow, Henry B.; Schroeder, William C. (eds.). ''Fishes of the Western North Atlantic'', Part Nine, Vol. 1. New Haven, Connecticut: Sears Foundation for Marine Research, Yale University. pp. 364–396.</ref> The mouth is oblique and angled upward, with the lower jaw projecting<ref name="FroesePauly2024">Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2024). ''FishBase''. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://www.fishbase.org (accessed 23 April 2026).</ref>

There is a single [[dorsal fin]] and a long-based [[Fish anatomy|anal fin]]; the dorsal fin originates above the base of the [[Fish anatomy|pectoral fins]].<ref name="Nelson2006" /> The dorsal and anal fins are similar in shape, although the dorsal fin has a distinct [[Anatomical terms of location|anterior lobe]].<ref name="Mead1972" /> The pectoral fins are positioned low on the body and are relatively long, extending to about the midpoint of the anal fin.<ref name="FroesePauly2024" /> The [[Fish anatomy|pelvic fins]] are small and situated below the base of the pectoral fins.<ref name="Nelson2006" /> The caudal fin is deeply forked.<ref name="Mead1972" />

The body and most of the head are covered in [[keeled scales]], while the [[Fish scale|scales]] that cover the ventral surface are smooth.<ref name="STRI">{{cite web |url=https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/taxon/1297 |title=Brama |work=Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system |publisher=Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute |access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref>

== Taxonomy == The genus ''Brama'' was established in 1801 by the German naturalists [[Marcus Elieser Bloch]] (1723–1799) and [[Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider|Johann Gottlob Schneider]] (1750–1822).<ref name="CofF" /> In 1823, [[Jean-Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent]] designated ''Sparus raii Bloch, 1791'' as the [[type species]].<ref name="CofF" />

== Species == Eight recognized species are in this genus:<ref name="FishBase">{{cite web |url=https://www.fishbase.org/summary/Brama.html |title=Genus: Brama |work=FishBase |publisher=FishBase |access-date=23 April 2026}}</ref> * ''[[Brama australis]]'' [[Achille Valenciennes|Valenciennes]], 1838 (southern Ray's bream) * ''[[Brama brama]]'' ([[Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre|Bonnaterre]], 1788) (Atlantic pomfret) * ''[[Brama caribbea]]'' [[Giles W Mead jr|Mead]], 1972 (Caribbean pomfret) * ''[[Brama dussumieri]]'' [[Georges Cuvier|G. Cuvier]], 1831 (lesser bream) * ''[[Brama japonica]]'' [[Franz Martin Hilgendorf|Hilgendorf]], 1878 (Pacific pomfret) * ''[[Brama myersi]]'' [[Giles W Mead jr|Mead]], 1972 (Myers' pomfret) * ''[[Brama orcini]]'' [[Georges Cuvier|G. Cuvier]], 1831 (bigtooth pomfret) * ''[[Brama pauciradiata]]'' [[Masato Moteki|Moteki]], [[Kiyoshi Fujita|Fujita]] & [[Peter R. Last|Last]], 1995 (shortfin pomfret) <ref name="Hibino">{{cite journal |last1=Hibino |first1=Yusuke |last2=Okada |first2=Masashi |last3=Moteki |first3=Masato |last4=Kimura |first4=Seishi |year=2014 |title=Redescription of the shortfin pomfret, ''Brama pauciradiata'', based on Japanese specimens (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Bramidae) |journal=Species Diversity |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=111–115}}</ref>

== Distribution and range == Species of the genus ''Brama'' are predominantly [[Pelagic fish|pelagic]] and occur worldwide in [[International waters|high seas]], with the exception of [[Arctic]] and [[Subarctic]] regions.<ref name="Mead">{{cite journal | author1 = G. W. Mead| year=1972 | title = Bramidae | journal = Dana Report | volume = 81 | pages = 1–166}}</ref> Two species, ''[[Brama orcini]]'' and ''[[Brama dussumieri]]'', differ in occurring in shallower waters near landmasses.<ref name="Mead" />

== Commercial importance == Some ''Brama'' species are common and, when large, are targeted by fisheries, particularly those off [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]].<ref name="Mead" />

== Ecology == Although known to be [[Fish migration|migratory]], their migratory behaviour remains poorly documented.<ref name="FroesePauly2024">Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2024). ''FishBase''. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://www.fishbase.org (accessed 23 April 2026).</ref> [[Spawning]] is thought to occur in near-surface waters, as early life stages are most frequently collected in the [[Water column|upper water column]].<ref name="Mead" /> Bramids, including ''Brama'' species, are commonly recorded in the stomach contents of large pelagic predators such as [[tuna]] and [[billfish]],<ref name="Manday1964">{{cite journal |last=Manday |first=D. G. |year=1964 |title=Biología pesquera del emperador o pez espada, ''Xiphias gladius'' Linnaeus (Teleostomi: Xiphiidae), en las aguas de Cuba |journal=Instituto de Biología |language=es}}</ref> indicating their importance as [[forage fish]].<ref name="Mead" />

== References == {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Brama (fish)| ]] [[Category:Bramidae]]