{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | fossil_range = {{fossil range|50|0|Late Ypresian to present}} | image = Lichia amia.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=de Morais, L. |author2=Smith-Vaniz, W.F. |author3=Sagna, A. |author4=Djiman, R. |author5=Camara, K. |author6=Carpenter, K.E. |author7=Nunoo, F. |author8=Sidibé, A. |author9=Sylla, M. |author10=Williams, A.B. |author11=Montiero, V. |date=2015 |title=''Lichia amia'' |volume=2015 |article-number=e.T198642A43159295 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198642A43159295.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Lichia amia | parent_authority = Cuvier, 1816 | authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) | display_parents = 3 | synonyms = {{Collapsible list| *''Scomber amia'' <small>Linnaeus, 1758</small> *''Caesiomorus amia'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small> *''Caranx amia'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small> *''Hypacantus amia'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small> *''Centronotus vadigo'' <small>Lacépède, 1801</small> *''Campogramma vadigo'' <small>(Lacepède, 1801)</small> *''Scomber flexuosus'' <small>Lichtenstein, 1823</small> *''Porthmeus argenteus'' <small>Valenciennes, 1833</small> }} | synonyms_ref = <ref name = FishBase>{{Fishbase|Lichia|amia|month=August|year=2019}}</ref> }}
The '''leerfish''' or '''garrick''' (''Lichia amia'') is a species of marine fish in the family Carangidae. It is the only extant member of the genus '''''Lichia'''''. It is native to much of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from the Mediterranean and western Black Sea, north to France, and south along the coastal waters of western Africa, reaching as far south as eastern South Africa.<ref name = FishBase/><ref name="R.VanDerElst">Van Der Elst, R. (1993). ''A Guide to the Common Sea Fishes of Southern Africa''. Struik Publishers. {{ISBN|1-86825-394-5}}.</ref><ref>[http://81.8.63.74/Downloads/Black_Sea_Fishes_Check_List.pdf Black Sea Fishes Check List] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125131742/http://81.8.63.74/Downloads/Black_Sea_Fishes_Check_List.pdf |date=2011-01-25 }}</ref> They are an important species in coastal recreational fisheries, especially in Africa.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Murray |first=Taryn S. |last2=Cowley |first2=Paul D. |last3=Bennett |first3=Rhett H. |last4=Childs |first4=Amber-Robyn |date=2018 |title=Fish on the move: connectivity of an estuary-dependent fishery species evaluated using a large-scale acoustic telemetry array |url=https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0361 |journal=Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |volume=75 |issue=11 |pages=2038–2052 |doi=10.1139/cjfas-2017-0361 |issn=0706-652X|url-access=subscription |hdl=1807/89234 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Henriques |first=R |last2=Potts |first2=WM |last3=Sauer |first3=WHH |last4=Shaw |first4=PW |date=2012-12-01 |title=Evidence of deep genetic divergence between populations of an important recreational fishery species, ''Lichia amia'' L. 1758, around southern Africa |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2989/1814232X.2012.749809 |journal=African Journal of Marine Science |volume=34 |issue=4 |doi=10.2989/1814232x.2012.749809 |issn=1814-232X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
These fish can reach 1.5 m in length and more than 30 kg in weight.<ref name="stan01">{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/standardencyclop0006unse |title=Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa |publisher=Nasou |others=Internet Archive |year=1970 |isbn=978-0-625-00320-4 |volume=6 |location=Cape Town |pages=563}}</ref> They inhabit the coastal wave zone where they form small shoals to hunt other smaller fish, favouring mullets. In South Africa, they primarily breed in estuaries and move to marine environments after maturation.<ref name=":0" />
== Taxonomy == Phylogenetic evidence suggests that a deep genetic divergence exists between leerfish populations in South Africa and Angola, likely divided by the Benguela Current. It has thus been recommended that these populations be managed as two independent stocks.<ref name=":1" />
== Fossil record == [[File:Lichia veronensis.JPG|left|thumb|Fossil specimen of ''L. veronensis'']] An extinct relative, ''Lichia veronensis'' <small>Bannikov, 1990</small>, is known from the Early Eocene-aged Monte Bolca site of Italy, suggesting that the genus has inhabited its present range for nearly 50 million years. Another extinct species, ''Lichia alta'' <small>Gorjanovic-Kramberger, 1891</small>, is known from the Oligocene of Slovenia. Fossil ''Lichia'' remains tentatively assigned to the extant ''L. amia'' are known from the late Miocene (Messinian) of Italy, in the midst of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. This suggests that the extant ''L. amia'' must have diverged from its extinct relatives prior to this point, and that pockets of ocean likely persisted in the Mediterranean during this period of time.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last1=Carnevale |first1=G. |last2=Bannikov |first2=Alexandre F. |last3=Marramà |first3=G. |last4=Tyler |first4=James C. |last5=Zorzin. |first5=R. |date=2014 |title=The Bolca Fossil-Lagerstätte: A window into the Eocene World. 5. The Pesciara- Monte Postale Fossil-Lagerstätte: 2. Fishes and other vertebrates. Excursion guide |url=https://iris.unito.it/bitstream/2318/149338/1/Carnevale%20et%20al%202014%20The%20Pesciara%20F-L.%20Fishes%20and%20other%20vertebrates2.pdf |journal=Rendiconti della Società Paleontologica Italiana |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=i–xxvii |hdl=10088/25678}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carnevale |first=Giorgio |last2=Caputo |first2=G. |last3=Landini |first3=D. |date=2008 |title=A leerfish (Teleostei, Carangidae) from the Messinian evaporites of the Vena del Gesso basin (Romagna Apennines, Italy): Paleogeographical and paleoecological implications. |url=https://iris.unito.it/handle/2318/130599 |journal=Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana |volume=47 |issue=2}}</ref>
== Gallery == <gallery mode="packed" heights="100"> File:Leccia Amia 26 kg .jpg|Showing size File:Carangidae Lichia amia 1.1.jpg|At UShaka Marine World File:Lichia amia Natural History Museum University of Pisa P 170.jpg|Skeleton File:Lichia amia juvenile (rotated).jpg|Juvenile </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2229274}}
Category:Trachinotinae Category:Fauna of Portugal Category:Fish of South Africa Category:Fish of the Mediterranean Sea Category:Marine fish of West Africa Category:Marine fish of Southern Africa Category:Fish described in 1758 Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{Carangiformes-stub}} Category:Extant Ypresian first appearances