# Dentex

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Genus of fishes

Dentex Temporal range: Middle Miocene to present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Dentex dentex Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Acanthuriformes Family: Sparidae Genus: Dentex G. Cuvier, 1814 Type species Sparus dentex Linnaeus, 1758[1] Synonyms[1] Allotaius Whitley, 1937 Opsodentex Fowler, 1925 Synagris Bleeker, 1876 Taius D. S. Jordan & Thompson, 1912

***Dentex*** is a [genus](/source/Genus) of marine [ray-finned fishes](/source/Ray-finned_fish) belonging to the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Sparidae](/source/Sparidae), which includes the seabreams and porgies. The fishes in this genus are found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the eastern Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.

## Taxonomy

*Dentex* was first proposed as a genus by the French [zoologist](/source/Zoologist) [Georges Cuvier](/source/Georges_Cuvier) in 1814, *Sparus dentex* was the [type species](/source/Type_species) by absolute [tautonymy](/source/Tautonym).[1] *S. dentex* had been [described](/source/Species_description) in 1758 by [Carl Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus) in the 10th Edition of his *[Systema Naturae](/source/Systema_Naturae)* from the [Mediterranean Sea](/source/Mediterranean_Sea).[2] The five [Indo-Pacific](/source/Indo-Pacific) species form a [species complex](/source/Species_complex) called the *Dentex hypselosomus* species complex but have not been separated into their own genus.[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 subfamily Denticinae,[5] but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.[4]

## Etymology

*Dentex* means "with large teeth, and is tautonymous with Linnaeus's *Sparus dentex*, and is a reference to the large teeth in both jaws.[6]

## Species

There are currently 14 recognized species in this genus:[7]

- *[Dentex abei](/source/Dentex_abei)* [Iwatsuki](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yukio_Iwatsuki&action=edit&redlink=1), [Akazaki](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Masato_Akazaki&action=edit&redlink=1) & [Taniguchi](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nobuhiko_Taniguchi&action=edit&redlink=1), 2007 (Yellowfin seabream)

- *[Dentex angolensis](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dentex_angolensis&action=edit&redlink=1)* [Poll](/source/Max_Fernand_Leon_Poll) & [Maul](/source/G%C3%BCnther_Maul), 1953 (Angolan dentex)

- *[Dentex barnardi](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dentex_barnardi&action=edit&redlink=1)* [Cadenat](/source/Jean_Cadenat), 1970 (Barnard's dentex)

- *[Dentex canariensis](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dentex_canariensis&action=edit&redlink=1)* [Steindachner](/source/Franz_Steindachner), 1881 (Canary dentex)

- *[Dentex carpenteri](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dentex_carpenteri&action=edit&redlink=1)* Iwatsuki, [S. J. Newman](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stephen_John_Newman&action=edit&redlink=1) & [B. C. Russell](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barry_C._Russell&action=edit&redlink=1), 2015 (Yellow snout seabream)[8]

- *[Dentex congoensis](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dentex_congoensis&action=edit&redlink=1)* Poll, 1954 (Congo dentex)

- *[Dentex dentex](/source/Common_dentex)* ([Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus), [1758](/source/10th_edition_of_Systema_Naturae)) (Common dentex)

- *[Dentex fourmanoiri](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dentex_fourmanoiri&action=edit&redlink=1)* Akazaki & [Séret](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bernard_S%C3%A9ret&action=edit&redlink=1), 1999 (Fourmanoir's seabream)

- *[Dentex gibbosus](/source/Dentex_gibbosus)* ([Rafinesque](/source/Constantine_Samuel_Rafinesque), 1810) (Pink dentex)

- *[Dentex hypselosomus](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dentex_hypselosomus&action=edit&redlink=1)* [Bleeker](/source/Pieter_Bleeker), 1854 (Yellowback seabream)

- *[Dentex macrophthalmus](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dentex_macrophthalmus&action=edit&redlink=1)* ([Bloch](/source/Marcus_Elieser_Bloch), 1791) (Large-eye dentex)

- *[Dentex maroccanus](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dentex_maroccanus&action=edit&redlink=1)* [Valenciennes](/source/Achille_Valenciennes), 1830 (Morocco dentex)

- *[Dentex spariformis](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dentex_spariformis&action=edit&redlink=1)* [J. D. Ogilby](/source/James_Douglas_Ogilby), 1910 (Saffronfin seabream)

The [Eocene](/source/Eocene) fossil species *[Dentex laekeniensis](/source/Dentex_laekeniensis)* [van Beneden](/source/Pierre-Joseph_van_Beneden), 1872 is generally placed in its own genus, *[Ctenodentex](/source/Ctenodentex)*.[9][10] Fossil specimens of modern *Dentex* are known from the [Middle Miocene](/source/Middle_Miocene) of the former [Paratethys](/source/Paratethys) region, including in Hungary and Ukraine.[11]

## Characteristics

*Dentex* seabreams are characterised within the Sparidae by the possession of a series of sharp conical teeth in each jaw, 4 in the upper jaw and 6 in the lower jaw , These teeth are enlarged and [canine](/source/Canine_teeth)-like and they have no [molar](/source/Molar_(tooth))-like teeth. The scales between the eyes extend to near a level with the front part of the orbit. The flange on the [preoperculum](/source/Preoperculum) is completely covered in scales.[3] The largest species in the genus is the pink dentex (*D. gibbosus*) with a maximum published [fork length](/source/Fork_length) of 106 cm (42 in) while the smallest is *D. fourmanoiri* which has a maximum published [standard length](/source/Standard_length) of 21.5 cm (8.5 in).[7]

## Distribution

*Dentex* sea breams are found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, from Europe to Namibia, and in the Eastern Indian and Western Pacific Ocean from Japan south to Australia.[7]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-CofF_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-CofF_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-CofF_1-2) 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 14 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 *Dentex*"](http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatget.asp?tbl=species&genus=Dentex). *[Catalog of Fishes](/source/Catalog_of_Fishes)*. [California Academy of Sciences](/source/California_Academy_of_Sciences). Retrieved 15 January 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Iwatsuki2007_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Iwatsuki2007_3-1) Iwatsuki, Y.; M. Akazaki; and N. Taniguchi (2007). ["Review of the species of the genus *Dentex* (Perciformes:Sparidae) in the Western Pacific defined as the *D. hypselosomus* complex with the description of a new species, *Dentex abei* and a redescription of *Evynnis tumifrons*"](https://www.kahaku.go.jp/research/publication/zoology/s1/S02_Iwatsuki_et-al.pdf) (PDF). *Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science Series A (Zoology)* (Supplement 1): 29–49.

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 2024-01-15.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ETYFish_6-0)** ["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 15 January 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Fishbase_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Fishbase_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Fishbase_7-2) [Froese, Rainer](/source/Rainer_Froese); [Pauly, Daniel](/source/Daniel_Pauly) (eds.). ["Species in genus *Dentex*"](https://www.fishbase.org/identification/SpeciesList.php?genus=Dentex). *[FishBase](/source/FishBase)*. October 2023 version.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Iwatsuki2015_8-0)** Iwatsuki, Y.; Newman, S.J. & Russell, B.C. (2015). "*Dentex carpenteri*, a new species of deepwater seabream from Western Australia (Pisces: Sparidae)". *Zootaxa*. **3957** (1): 109–119. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.11646/zootaxa.3957.1.9](https://doi.org/10.11646%2Fzootaxa.3957.1.9). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [26249058](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26249058).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:0_9-0)** Schwarzhans, Werner; Beckett, Hermione T.; Schein, Jason D.; Friedman, Matt (2018). Rahman, Imran (ed.). ["Computed tomography scanning as a tool for linking the skeletal and otolith-based fossil records of teleost fishes"](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pala.12349). *Palaeontology*. **61** (4): 511–541. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2018Palgy..61..511S](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018Palgy..61..511S). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/pala.12349](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fpala.12349). [hdl](/source/Hdl_(identifier)):[2027.42/144669](https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42%2F144669). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0031-0239](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0031-0239).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Ctenodentex lakeniensis (P.J. Van Beneden, 1872) — RBINS Virtual Collections"](https://virtualcollections.naturalsciences.be/virtual-collections/paleontology/Fossil%20Vertebrates/Fossil%20Fishes/ctenodentex-lakeniensis-p-j-van-beneden-1872). *virtualcollections.naturalsciences.be*. Retrieved 2024-06-27.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:1_11-0)** Dubikovska, Anastasiia; Górka, Marcin; Skyrpan, Mykola; Bienkowska-Wasiluk, Malgorzata; Barkaszi, Zoltán; Kovalchuk, Oleksandr (2025-01-02). ["New data on the early Badenian (Middle Miocene) bony fishes of the Forecarpathian Basin"](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2025.2516023). *Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology*. **45** (1). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/02724634.2025.2516023](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F02724634.2025.2516023). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0272-4634](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0272-4634).

Taxon identifiers Dentex Wikidata: Q2538768 Wikispecies: Dentex ADW: Dentex AFD: Dentex BioLib: 127038 BOLD: 34641 CoL: C9L7K GBIF: 2374819 iNaturalist: 87889 IRMNG: 1194812 ITIS: 169219 NBN: NBNSYS0000181197 NCBI: 94950 Open Tree of Life: 860308 Paleobiology Database: 36009 WoRMS: 126075

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