Pachymetopon

{{Short description|Genus of fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Bronzeseabream.jpg | image_caption= Bronze seabream (''Pachymetopon grande'') | taxon = Pachymetopon | authority = [[Albert Günther|Günther]], 1859 | type_species = ''Pachymetopon grande'' | type_species_authority = Günther, 1859<ref name = CofF>{{Cof family|family+Sparidae|access-date=1 February 2024}}</ref> | synonyms = * ''Simocantharus'' [[Henry Weed Fowler|Fowler]], 1933 | synonyms_ref = <ref name = CofF/> }} '''P''achymetopon''''' is a genus of marine [[Actinopterygii|ray-finned fishes]] belonging to the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Sparidae]], which includes the seabreams and porgies. The species in this genus are [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Southern Africa]].

==Taxonomy== ''Pachymetopon'' was first proposed as a [[monospecific genus]] in 1859 by the German-born British [[herpetologist]] and [[ichthyologist]] Albert Günther when he [[Species description|described]] The [[bronze seabream]] (''P. grande''),<ref name = CofF/> giving its type locality as the [[Cape of Good Hope]] in South Africa.<ref name = CofF2>{{Cof genus|genus=Pachymetopon|access-date=1 February 2024}}</ref> This taxon is placed in the family Sparidae within the [[Order (biology)|order]] [[Spariformes]] by the 5th edition of ''[[Fishes of the World]]''.<ref name = Nelson5>{{cite book |author1=Nelson, J.S. |author1-link=Joseph S. Nelson |author2=Grande, T.C. |author3=Wilson, M.V.H. |year=2016 |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |place=Hoboken, NJ |pages=502–506 |isbn=978-1-118-34233-6 |lccn=2015037522 |oclc=951899884 |ol=25909650M |doi=10.1002/9781119174844}}</ref> Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Boopsinae,<ref name = Parenti>{{cite journal |author= Parenti, P. |year=2019 |title=An annotated checklist of the fishes of the family Sparidae |journal=FishTaxa |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=47–98 |url= https://fishtaxa.com/menuscript/index.php/ft/article/view/49/52}}</ref> but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.<ref name = Nelson5/>

==Etymology== ''Pachymetopon'' combines ''pachy'', meaning "thick", with ''metopon'', which means "brow" or "forehead", a reference to the protuberance between the eyes of the [[type species]], ''P. grande''.<ref name = ETYFish>{{cite web |url=https://etyfish.org/acanthuriformes6/ |title=Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 6): Families GERREIDAE, LETHRINIDAE, NEMIPTERIDAE and SPARIDAE |date=12 January 2024 |access-date=1 February 2024 |author=Christopher Scharpf |work=The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database |publisher=Christopher Scharpf}}</ref>

==Species== ''Pachymetopon'' contains the following species:<ref name = FishBase>{{FishBase genus|genus=Pachymetopon|month=October|year=2023}}</ref>

* ''[[Pachymetopon aeneum]]'' ([[John Gilchrist (zoologist)|Gilchrist]] & [[William Wardlaw Thompson|W. W. Thompson]], 1908) (Blue hottentot) * ''[[Pachymetopon blochii]]'' ([[Achille Valenciennes|Valenciennes]], 1830) (Hottentot seabream) * ''[[Pachymetopon grande]]'' Günther, 1859 (Bronze Seabream)

==Characteristics== ''Pachymetopon'' seabreams are characterised by having plump bodies with small mouths whichhave pouting lips and are oblique when shut. There are 4 or 5 rows of [[incisor]]-like teetth in both jaws and no [[Molar (tooth)|molar]]-like teeth. There are no scales between the eyes. The base of the fin membrane between the soft rays on the [[dorsal fin|dorsal]] and [[anal fin]]s have dense scaling but none of the fins have a scaly sheath at their base.<ref name = WIOF>{{cite book |author=Yukio Iwatsuki |author2=Phillip C Heemstra |name-list-style=and |chapter=Family Sparidae |pages=284–315 |title=Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean |volume=3 |editor1=[[Phil Heemstra|Phillip C Heemstra]] |editor2=Elaine Heemstra |editor3=David A Ebert |editor4=Wouter Holleman |editor5=[[John Ernest Randall|John E Randall]] |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-990951-32-9 |publisher=South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity |url=https://saiab.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1._wiof_volume_3_text.pdf}}</ref> The largest species is the bronze seabream (''P. grande'') which has a maximum published [[total length]] of {{cvt|65|cm}}, while the smallest is the Hottentot seabream (''P blochii'') with a maximum published total length of {{cvt|46|cm}}.<ref name = FishBase/>

==Distribution and habitat== ''Pachymetopon'' seabreams are endemic to the waters off the coasts of South Africa in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean and the southwestern Indian Ocean. The most widespread species is the Hottentot seabream which ranges from Angola to [[Port Alfred]] in the Eastern Cape. The other two species are found in the southwestern Indian Ocean from Mozambique to [[Cape Point]] with the bronze seabream apparently being recorded off southern Madagascar. These fishes are found in rocky regions in shallow water less than {{cvt|55|m}} in depth.<ref name = WIOF/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Sparidae]] [[Category:Taxa named by Albert Günther]]