# Centracanthus

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Centracanthus
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Centracanthus.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centracanthus
> Source revision: 1354667434
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Genus of fishes

Centracanthus Curled picarel (C. cirrus) Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Acanthuriformes Family: Sparidae Genus: Centracanthus Rafinesque, 1810 Type species Centracanthus cirrus Rafinesque, 1810 Species see text

***Centracanthus*** is a [genus](/source/Genus) of marine [ray-finned fishes](/source/Ray-finned_fish) belonging to the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Sparidae](/source/Sparidae), the seabreams and porgies. There is a single extant species in this genus, as well as an extinct species classified within the genus. The extant species is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the [Mediterranean Sea](/source/Mediterranean_Sea) and [Black Sea](/source/Black_Sea).

## Taxonomy

*Centracanthus* was first proposed as a [monospecific genus](/source/Monospecific_genus) in 1810 by the French [naturalist](/source/Naturalist) and [polymath](/source/Polymath) [Constantine Samuel Rafinesque](/source/Constantine_Samuel_Rafinesque) when he [described](/source/Species_description) *Centracanthus cirrus*,[1] giving its [type locality](/source/Type_locality_(biology)) as [Sicily](/source/Sicily).[2] The genus was considered to be monospecific untIl a [fossil](/source/Fossil) species, *C. pobedinae*, from the [Miocene](/source/Miocene) was described from Kazakhstan in 2015.[3] This genus is placed in the family Sparidae within the [order](/source/Order_(biology)) [Spariformes](/source/Spariformes) by the 5th edition of *[Fishes of the World](/source/Fishes_of_the_World)*.[4] Some authorities classify this genus in the [monotypic](/source/Monotypic_taxon) [subfamily](/source/Subfamily) Centracanthinae,[5] but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.[4] This genus and the genus *[Spicara](/source/Spicara)* were considered to belong to a separate family, Centracanthidae, but phylogenetic analyses resolved that the Sparidae was paraphyletic if Centracanthus and Spicara were not included within it.[6]

## Etymology

*Centracanthus* is a combination of *centron*, meaning “point”, and *acanthus*, which means “thorn” or “spine”, this may be a reference to what Rafinesque described as two [dorsal fins](/source/Dorsal_fin) with “some rays or loose thorns between them and their membranes”. In fact, there is a single dorsal fin with a dip in its middle section.[7]

## Species

There are two species classified within the genus:[8]

- *[Centracanthus cirrus](/source/Centracanthus_cirrus)* Rafinesque, 1810 (Curled picarel)

- † *[Centracanthus pobedinae](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Centracanthus_pobedinae&action=edit&redlink=1)* Bratishko, *et al.* 2015[3]

## Characteristics

*Centracanthus* have strongly protrusible mouths and elongate bodies which are shallower than the length of the head and with a [standard length](/source/Standard_length) which is 5 to 5.6 times its depth. There is a wide incision in the middle of the dorsal fin.[9] The fossil species, *C. pobedinae* was identified by its distinctive [otoliths](/source/Otolith).[3]

## Distribution

*Centracanthus* are found in the temperate western Atlantic Ocean as far north as Portugal and south to the [Canary Islands](/source/Canary_Islands), into the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.[9] *C. cirrus* has also been reported from Cape Verde and Mauritania.[10]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-CofF_1-0)** Fricke, Ron; [Eschmeyer, William N.](/source/William_N._Eschmeyer) & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). ["Genera in the family Sparidae"](http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatget.asp?tbl=genus&family=Sparidae). *[Catalog of Fishes](/source/Catalog_of_Fishes)*. [California Academy of Sciences](/source/California_Academy_of_Sciences). Retrieved 4 January 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-CofF2_2-0)** Fricke, Ron; [Eschmeyer, William N.](/source/William_N._Eschmeyer) & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). ["Species in the genus *Centracanthus*"](http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatget.asp?tbl=species&genus=Centracanthus). *[Catalog of Fishes](/source/Catalog_of_Fishes)*. [California Academy of Sciences](/source/California_Academy_of_Sciences). Retrieved 4 January 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Bratishko_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Bratishko_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Bratishko_3-2) A. Bratishko; W. Schwarzhans; B. Reichenbacher; Y. Vernyhorova; and S. Coric. (2015). "Fish otoliths from the Konkian (Miocene, early Serravallian) of Mangyshlak (Kazakhstan): testimony to an early endemic evolution in the Eastern Paratethys". *Paläontologische Zeitschrift*. **89** (4): 839–889. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2015PalZ...89..839B](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015PalZ...89..839B). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/s12542-015-0274-4](https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs12542-015-0274-4).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Nelson5_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Nelson5_4-1) [Nelson, J.S.](/source/Joseph_S._Nelson); Grande, T.C.; Wilson, M.V.H. (2016). *Fishes of the World* (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: [John Wiley & Sons](/source/John_Wiley_%26_Sons). pp. 502–506. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1002/9781119174844](https://doi.org/10.1002%2F9781119174844). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-118-34233-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-118-34233-6). [LCCN](/source/LCCN_(identifier)) [2015037522](https://lccn.loc.gov/2015037522). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [951899884](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/951899884). [OL](/source/OL_(identifier)) [25909650M](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25909650M).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Parenti_5-0)** Parenti, P. (2019). ["An annotated checklist of the fishes of the family Sparidae"](https://web.archive.org/web/20250221133739/https://fishtaxa.com/menuscript/index.php/ft/article/view/49/52). *FishTaxa*. **4** (2): 47–98. Archived from [the original](https://fishtaxa.com/menuscript/index.php/ft/article/view/49/52) on 2025-02-21. Retrieved 2024-01-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-C&J_6-0)** [Kent E. Carpenter](/source/Kent_E._Carpenter) and G David Johnson (2002). ["A phylogeny of sparoid fishes (Perciformes, Percoidei) based on morphology"](https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/9750/vz_02Carpenter_Johnson_sparoid.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y) (PDF). *Ichthyological Research*. **49** (2): 114–127. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2002IchtR..49..114C](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002IchtR..49..114C). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/s102280200015](https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs102280200015).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ETYFish_7-0)** ["Order SPARIFORMES: Families LETHRINIDAE, NEMIPTERIDAE and SPARIDAE"](https://web.archive.org/web/20231030165034/https://etyfish.org/spariformes/). *The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database*. Christopher Scharpf. 22 December 2023. Archived from [the original](https://etyfish.org/spariformes/) on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Fishbase_8-0)** [Froese, Rainer](/source/Rainer_Froese); [Pauly, Daniel](/source/Daniel_Pauly) (eds.). ["Species in genus *Centracanthus*"](https://www.fishbase.org/identification/SpeciesList.php?genus=Centracanthus). *[FishBase](/source/FishBase)*. October 2023 version.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FAO_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FAO_9-1) [Kent E. Carpenter](/source/Kent_E._Carpenter) (2016). "Sparidae". In Carpenter, K.E. and De Angelis, N. (eds.). [*The living marine resources of the Eastern Central Atlantic Volume 2 Bony fishes part 2 (Perciformes to Tetradontiformes) and Sea turtles*](https://www.fao.org/3/i5715e/i5715e.pdf) (PDF). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. Rome: FAO. pp. 2567–2620. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-92-5-109267-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-92-5-109267-5).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Vikaly_10-0)** Vakily, J.M.; Camara, S.B.; Mendy, A.N.; et al. (2002). [*Poissons Marins de la Sous-Région Nord-Ouest Africaine EUR 20379 FR*](https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/ocrd/215707.pdf) (PDF) (in French). Bruxelles & Italy: Commission Européenne.

Taxon identifiers Centracanthus Wikidata: Q1930732 Wikispecies: Centracanthus BOLD: 34783 GBIF: 2393198 iNaturalist: 87273 IRMNG: 1107469 ITIS: 647864 NCBI: 490315 Open Tree of Life: 965165 Paleobiology Database: 35980 WoRMS: 125948

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Centracanthus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centracanthus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centracanthus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.