# Lithognathus

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Genus of fishes

Lithognathus Temporal range: Miocene to Present[1] Lithognathus mormyrus Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Acanthuriformes Family: Sparidae Genus: Lithognathus Swainson, 1839[2] Type species Lithognathus capensis Swainson, 1839[3] Species See text Synonyms[3] Pagrichthys Bleeker, 1859

***Lithognathus*** is a [genus](/source/Genus) of marine [ray-finned fish](/source/Actinopterygii) belonging to the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Sparidae](/source/Sparidae), which includes the seabreams and porgies. Species in this genus are given the common name of **steenbras**. The genus is found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean from southwestern Europe to South Africa and into the southwestern Indian Ocean.

## Taxonomy

*Lithognathus* was first proposed as [taxon](/source/Taxon) in 1839 by the English [zoologist](/source/Zoologist) [William Swainson](/source/William_Swainson), Swainson named it as a [monotypic](/source/Monotypy) [subgenus](/source/Subgenus) of *[Pagellus](/source/Pagellus)* with *Pagellus (Lithognathus) capensis* as its only species and, therefore, its [type species](/source/Type_species).[3] Swainson's name is now understood to be a [junior synonym](/source/Junior_synonym) of *Pagrus lithognathus* which had been [described](/source/Species_description) in 1829 by [Georges Cuvier](/source/Georges_Cuvier), with its [type locality](/source/Type_locality_(biology)) given as the [Cape of Good Hope](/source/Cape_of_Good_Hope).[4] The genus *Lithognathus* 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)*.[5] Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Pagellinae,[6] but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.[5]

## Etymology

*Lithognathus* means "stone jaw", Swainson described the maxillaries as "thick, enlarged, and as hard as stone". It is not a [tautonym](/source/Tautonym) as Swainson unnecessarily renamed Cuvier's *Pagellus lithognathus* as *L. lithognathus*.[7]

## Species

The [World Register of Marine Species](/source/World_Register_of_Marine_Species) lists the following four species :[8]

- *[Lithognathus aureti](/source/Lithognathus_aureti)* [Smith](/source/J._L._B._Smith), 1962 (West coast seabream)

- *[Lithognathus lithognathus](/source/Lithognathus_lithognathus)* (Cuvier, 1829) (White steenbras)

- *[Lithognathus mormyrus](/source/Lithognathus_mormyrus)* ([Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus), 1758) (Sand steenbras)

- *[Lithognathus olivieri](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lithognathus_olivieri&action=edit&redlink=1)* [Penrith](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Jon_Penrith&action=edit&redlink=1) & [Penrith](/source/Mary-Louise_Penrith), 1969 (Steenbras)

## Characteristics

*Lithognathus* steenbras breams are characterised by an oblong compressed, body with a long snout. The tips of the [pectoral fins](/source/Pectoral_fin) extend almost as far as the origin of the [anal fin](/source/Anal_fin). The teeth in the front of the jaws are small and arranged in bands with between 3 and 6 rows of [molar](/source/Molar_(tooth))-like teeth in the upper jaw and between 2 and 4 rows in the lower jaw. In adults the [maxilla](/source/Maxilla) does not extend as far as the anterior edge of the [orbit](/source/Orbit_(anatomy)), The scales on the head reach as far as the posterior edge of the orbit.[9] The largest species in the genus is the [white steenbras](/source/White_steenbras) with a maximum published [total length](/source/Total_length) of 200 cm (79 in) while the smallest is the *L. olivieri*.[8]

## Distribution

*Lithognathus* steenbras breams occur in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean from southwestern Europe to South Africa and into the southwestern Indian Ocean.[8]

## References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Lithognathus](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Lithognathus).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Sepkoski, Jack (2002). ["A compendium of fossil marine animal genera"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090220223520/http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class). *Bulletins of American Paleontology*. **364**: 560. Archived from [the original](http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class) on 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2008-01-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-WoRMS_2-0)** Bailly, Nicolas (2014). ["*Lithognathus* Swainson, 1839"](https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=126077). *WoRMS*. [World Register of Marine Species](/source/World_Register_of_Marine_Species). Retrieved 2015-05-24.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-CofF_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-CofF_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-CofF_3-2) 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 29 January 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-CofF2_4-0)** Fricke, Ron; [Eschmeyer, William N.](/source/William_N._Eschmeyer) & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). ["Species in the genus *Lithognathus*"](http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatget.asp?tbl=species&genus=Lithognathus). *[Catalog of Fishes](/source/Catalog_of_Fishes)*. [California Academy of Sciences](/source/California_Academy_of_Sciences). Retrieved 29 January 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Nelson5_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Nelson5_5-1) [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_6-0)** Parenti, P. (2019). ["An annotated checklist of the fishes of the family Sparidae"](https://fishtaxa.com/menuscript/index.php/ft/article/view/49/52). *FishTaxa*. **4** (2): 47–98.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ETYFish_7-0)** Christopher Scharpf (12 January 2024). ["Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 6): Families GERREIDAE, LETHRINIDAE, NEMIPTERIDAE and SPARIDAE"](https://etyfish.org/acanthuriformes6/). *The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database*. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 29 January 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Fishbase_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Fishbase_8-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Fishbase_8-2) [Froese, Rainer](/source/Rainer_Froese); [Pauly, Daniel](/source/Daniel_Pauly) (eds.). ["Species in genus *Lithognathus*"](https://www.fishbase.org/identification/SpeciesList.php?genus=Lithognathus). *[FishBase](/source/FishBase)*. October 2024 version.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-WIOF_9-0)** Yukio Iwatsuki and Phillip C Heemstra (2022). "Family Sparidae". In [Phillip C Heemstra](/source/Phil_Heemstra); Elaine Heemstra; David A Ebert; Wouter Holleman; and [John E Randall](/source/John_Ernest_Randall) (eds.). [*Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean*](https://saiab.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1._wiof_volume_3_text.pdf) (PDF). Vol. 3. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. pp. 284–315. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-990951-32-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-990951-32-9).

Taxon identifiers Lithognathus Wikidata: Q2261964 Wikispecies: Lithognathus ADW: Lithognathus BOLD: 3490 CoL: 5FMJ GBIF: 2392645 iNaturalist: 89574 IRMNG: 1259203 ITIS: 182935 NBN: NHMSYS0020233949 NCBI: 50590 Open Tree of Life: 271168 Paleobiology Database: 36074 WoRMS: 126077

Authority control databases National Israel Other Yale LUX

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