Pagrus

{{Short description|Genus of fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Early Miocene|present}} | image = Pagrus pagrus 20-10-06.jpg | image_caption = ''[[Pagrus pagrus]]'' | taxon = Pagrus | authority = [[Georges Cuvier|Cuvier]], 1816 | type_species = ''Sparus pagrus'' | type_species_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]<ref name = CofF>{{Cof family|family=Sparidae|access-date=7 February 2024}}</ref> | synonyms = * ''Semapagrus'' [[Henry Weed Fowler|Fowler]], 1925 | synonyms_ref = <ref name = CofF/> }} [[File:Pagrus major Red seabream ja01.jpg|250px|right|thumb|[[Pagrus major|Red seabream]] (''Pagrus major'')]] [[File:Snapper03 melb aquarium.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Australasian snapper]] [[File:Pagrus pagrus.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Red porgy]] '''''Pagrus''''' is a [[genus]] of marine [[ray-finned fish]]es belonging to the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Sparidae]], which includes the seabreams and porgies. These fishes are found in the Western Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. They are esteemed food fishes which are targeted by commercial fisheries and are grown in aquaculture.

==Taxonomy== ''Pagrus'' was first proposed as a genus in 1816 by the French [[zoologist]] [[Georges Cuvier]] with ''Sparus pagrus'' as its [[type species]] by absolute [[Tautonym|tautonymy]],<ref name = CofF/> ''Sparus pagrus'' was first [[Species description|described]] by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'']] with its [[Type locality (biology)|type locality]] given as the Mediterranean Sea of southern Europe.<ref name = CofF2>{{Cof genus|genus=Pagrus|access-date=7 February 2024}}</ref> This genus 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 Sparinae,<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/>

==Species== ''Pagrus'' contains at least five described [[species]]:<ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase genus|genus=Pagrus|month=October|year=2023}}</ref> *''[[Pagrus africanus]]'' ([[Masato Akazaki|Akazaki]], 1962) (Southern common seabream) *''[[Pagrus auriga]]'' ([[Achille Valenciennes|Valenciennes]], 1843) (Redbanded seabream ) *''[[Pagrus caeruleostictus]]'' (Valenciennes, 1830) (Bluespotted seabream) *''[[Pagrus major]]'' ([[Coenraad Jacob Temminck|Temminck]] & [[Hermann Schlegel|Schlegel]], 1843) (Red seabream ) *''[[Pagrus pagrus]]'' ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758) (Common seabream or red porgy)

The species ''[[Australasian snapper|Pagrus auratus]]'', formerly placed in this genus, is now placed by ''[[Catalog of Fishes]]'' in the [[monospecific genus]] ''[[Chrysophrys]]'' [[Jean René Constant Quoy|Quoy]] & [[Joseph Paul Gaimard|Gaimard]], 1824.<ref name = CofF2/> This is not followed by ''[[FishBase]]''<ref name = Fishbase/> but is accepted by other authorities.<ref name = Parenti/><ref name = FofA>{{cite web |author=Gomon, M.F. |author2=Bray, D.J. |name-list-style=& |year=2022 |title=''Chrysophrys'' |work=Fishes of Australia |access-date=7 February 2024|url=https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/genus/1069 |publisher=Museums Victoria}}</ref>

The following fossil species are also known:

* †''[[Pagrus cinctus]]'' ([[Louis Agassiz|Agassiz]], 1839) - [[Early Miocene]] to [[Pliocene]] of Spain, France, Algeria, Libya, Malta, Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Ukraine<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Šoster |first1=A. |last2=Kovalchuk |first2=O. M. |date=2016-10-01 |title=Late Neogene and Pleistocene Porgy Fishes (Teleostei, Sparidae) of the Eastern Paratethys, with Comments on their Palaeoecology |url=http://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/vzoo/50/5/article-p415.xml |journal=Vestnik Zoologii |volume=50 |issue=5 |pages=415–422 |doi=10.1515/vzoo-2016-0048 |issn=2073-2333}}</ref> * †''[[Pagrus hyneus]]'' Purdy ''et al''., 2001 - [[Zanclean|Early Pliocene]] of North Carolina, US<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Purdy |first1=Robert W. |last2=Schneider |first2=Vincent P. |last3=Applegate |first3=Shelton P. |last4=McLellan |first4=Jack H. |last5=Meyer |first5=Robert L. |last6=Slaughter |first6=Bob H. |date=2001 |title=The Neogene Sharks, Rays, and Bony Fishes from Lee Creek Mine, Aurora, North Carolina |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/351984 |access-date=2025-09-02 |website=Biodiversity Heritage Library}}</ref>

==Etymology== ''Pagrus'' is tautonymous from ''Sparus pagrus'', the name ''pagrus'' comes from a [[Greek language|Greek]] word for seabreams that dates at least to the time of [[Aristotle]].<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=7 February 2024 |author=Christopher Scharpf |work=The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database |publisher=Christopher Scharpf}}</ref>

==Characteristics== ''Pagrus'' seabreams are characterised by having oblong, compressed bodies with deep heads which have rounded dorsal profiles. The rear nostril is oblong, the front nostril is a slit. The moderately protrusible mouth is small, horizontal and the end of the maxilla is overlapped by the suborbital bone. There are two rows of teeth in the jaws, the front row is made up of between 6 and 6 sharp, [[Canine (tooth)|canine-like]] teeth with [[Molar (tooth)|molar]]-like teeth to the rear of them. The margin of the [[preoperculum]] is smooth. The [[dorsal fin]] is low and is supported by 12 spines while the [[anal fin]] is short-based and is supported by 3 short spines and 8 soft rays> The long [[pectoral fin]]s are clearly longer than the [[pelvic fin]]s. The cheeks and [[gill cover]]s are scaled but there are no scales on the snout or between the eyes and the mouth. There are between 48 and 60 scales in the [[lateral line]] and there no large blotch at its origin.<ref name = STRI>{{cite web |url=https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/taxon/3759 |title=Genus: Pagrus, Porgies, Red Porgy |access-date=8 February 2024 |work=Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system |publisher=[[Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute]]}}</ref><ref name = FAO>{{cite book |author=Kent E. Carpenter |author-link=Kent E. Carpenter |chapter=Sparidae |pages=2567–2620 |editor1=Carpenter, K.E. |editor2=De Angelis, N.|name-list-style=and |year=2016 |title=The living marine resources of the Eastern Central Atlantic Volume 2 Bony fishes part 2 (Perciformes to Tetradontiformes) and Sea turtles |series=FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes |location=Rome |publisher=FAO |url=https://www.fao.org/3/i5715e/i5715e.pdf |isbn=978-92-5-109267-5}}</ref> The largest species in the genus is ''P. auratus'' with a maximum published [[total length]] of {{cvt|130|cm}}, while the smallest is ''P. africanus'' with a maximum published total length of {{cvt|75|cm}}.<ref name = Fishbase/>

==Distribution and habitat== ''Pagrus'' seabreams are found in the Atlantic Ocean, where ''P. pagrus'' occurs on both sides of the Ocean and in the Mediterranean, while the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea have two other native species, ''P. auriga'' and ''P. caeruleostictus''. ''P. africanus'' is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off West Africa. The remaining two species are found in the Western Pacific Ocean.<ref name = Fishbase/> However, ''P. major'' has been introduced into the Mediterranean probably as a result of escapes from [[aquaculture]].<ref name = Kampouris>{{cite journal |author=Thodoros E. Kampouris |author2=Panagiotis S. Economidis |name-list-style=and |author3=Ioannis E. Batjakas |year=2020 |title=First record of ''Pagrus major'' (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) (Perciformes: Sparidae) from east Mediterranean Sea and the northernmost Mediterranean record of Por's goatfish ''Upeneus pori'' Ben-Tuvia & Golani, 1989 (Perciformes: Mullidae) from Thermaikos Gulf, NorthWest Aegean Sea, Greece |journal=Cahiers de Biologie Marine |volume=61 |pages=253–258 |doi=10.21411/CBM.A.F4BCFF17}}</ref> These fishes prefer hard bottoms but may be found in estuaries.<ref name = FAO/>

==Biology== ''Pagrus'' seabreams are carnivores, using their crushing molars to feed on molluscs and crustaceans but they have also been found to eat softer bodied prey such as cephalopods and fishes.<ref name = FAO/> ''P. pagrus'' and ''P. caeruleostictus'' are at least partial [[protogynous hermaphrodite]]s.<ref name = Rania>{{cite journal |author=Rania F. Ismail |author2=Mona M. Mourad |author3= Mahmoud M.S. Farrag |title=Gonadal development and hermaphroditism of bluespotted seabream, ''Pagrus caeruleostictus'' (Valenciennes, 1830) from the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt |journal=The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research |volume=44 |issue=2 |year=2018 |pages=163–171 |issn=1687-4285 |doi=10.1016/j.ejar.2018.05.003|bibcode=2018EgJAR..44..163I |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name = NOAA>{{cite report |author=Charles S. Manooch III |name-list-style=and |author2=William W. Hassler |year=1978 |title=Synopsis of Biological Data on the Red Porgy, ''Pagrus pagrus'' (Linnaeus) |publisher=U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service |series=NOAA Technical Report NMFS Circular |issue=412 |url=https://www.fao.org/3/ap922e/ap922e.pdf}}</ref>

==Fisheries== ''Pagrus'' seabreams are valued as food fishes, as well as being used to produce fish meal and fish oil, and are targeted by fisheries wherever they occur. They are also used in aquaculture in both Japan<ref name = Kato>{{cite journal |author=Kato, K. |title=Breeding studies on red sea bream ''Pagrus major'': mass selection to genome editing |journal=Fisheries Science |volume=89 |pages=103–119 |year=2023 |issue=2 |doi=10.1007/s12562-022-01668-0|doi-access=free |bibcode=2023FisSc..89..103K }}</ref> and the Mediterranean.<ref name = Kampouris/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Pagrus| ]] [[Category:Marine fish genera]] [[Category:Eocene genus first appearances]] [[Category:Taxa named by Georges Cuvier]] [[Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot]] [[Category:Spariform fish genera]]