Rhabdosargus

{{Short description|Genus of fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = HeDIall.jpg | image_caption = ''Rhabdosargus sarba'' | taxon = Rhabdosargus | authority = [[Henry Weed Fowler|Fowler]], 1933 | type_species = ''[[Rhabdosargus sarba|Sargus auriventris]]'' | type_species_authority = [[Wilhelm Peters|Peters]], 1855<ref name = CofF>{{Cof family|family=Sparidae|access-date=15 February 2024}}</ref> | synonyms= {{Genus list | Austrosparus | [[J. L. B. Smith]], 1938 | Prionosparus | J. L. B. Smith, 1942 }} | synonyms_ref = <ref name = CofF/> }}

'''''Rhabdosargus''''' is a [[genus]] of [[Actinopterygii|ray-finned fish]] belonging to the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Sparidae]], which includes the seabreams and porgies. These fishes are found in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean and throughout the [[Indo-West Pacific]], although mainly in the western Indian Ocean.

==Taxonomy== ''Rhabdosargus'' was first proposed as a [[monospecific genus]] in 1933 by the American [[zoologist]] [[Henry Weed Fowler]] with ''Sparus auriventris'' as its only species and designated as its [[type species]].<ref name = CofF/> ''Sargus auriventris'' had been first formally [[Species description|described]] in 1855 by [[Wilhelm Peters]] from Mozambique. ''S. auriventris'' is considered to be a [[junior synonym]] of ''Sparus sarba''<ref name = CofF2>{{Cof genus|genus=Rhabdosargus|access-date=15 February 2024}}</ref> which had been described in 1789 by [[Johann Friedrich Gmelin]] from notes written by [[Peter Forsskål]].<ref name = Fricke>{{cite journal |author=Fricke, R. |author-link=Ronald Fricke|year=2008 |title=Authorship, availability and validity of fish names described by Peter (Pehr) Simon Forsskål and Johann Christian Fabricius in the 'Descriptiones animalium' by Carsten Niebuhr in 1775 (Pisces) |journal= Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde A, Neue Serie |volume=1 |pages=1–76 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235686196}}</ref> The genus ''Rhabdosargus'' 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/>

==Etymology== ''Rhabdosargus'' is a combination of ''rhabdos'', meaning "stick" or "rod", an allusion to the yellow abdominal band of ''Sargus auriventris'', the type species. The second part is ''Sargos'', a name used for Sparid fish in [[ancient Greek]] at least as long ago as [[Aristotle]] but in this case is a reference to ''Sargus'' as a [[Synonym (taxonomy)|synonym]] of ''[[Diplodus]]''.<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=15 February 2024 |author=Christopher Scharpf |work=The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database |publisher=Christopher Scharpf}}</ref>

==Species== ''Rhabdosargus'' contains the following 6 valid species:<ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase genus|genus=Rhabdosargus|month=February|year=2023}}</ref> * ''[[Rhabdosargus globiceps]]'' [[Achille Valenciennes|Valenciennes]], 1830 (White stumpnose) * ''[[Rhabdosargus haffara]]'' [[Johan Christian Fabricius|Fabricius]], 1775 (Haffara seabream) * ''[[Rhabdosargus holubi]]'' [[Franz Steindachner|Steindachner]], 1881 (Cape stumpnose) * ''[[Rhabdosargus niger]]'' [[Fumiya Tanaka (biologist)|F. Tanaka]] & [[Yukio Iwatsuki|Iwatsuki]], 2013 (Blackish stumpnose) <ref name=Tanaka2013>Tanaka, F. & Iwatsuki, Y. (2013):''Rhabdosargus niger'' (Perciformes: Sparidae), a new sparid species from Indonesia, with taxonomic status of the nominal species synonymized under ''Rhabdosargus sarba''. ''Ichthyological Research, 60 (4): 343-352.''</ref> * ''[[Rhabdosargus sarba]]'' [[Johann Friedrich Gmelin|Gmelin]] (ex [[Peter Forsskål|Forsskål]]), 1789 (Goldlined seabream) * ''[[Rhabdosargus thorpei]]'' [[Margaret Mary Smith|M. M. Smith]], 1979 (Bigeye stumpnose)

==Characteristics== ''Rhabdosargus'' seabreams are characterised by having more than 50 scales in the [[lateral line]]. The jaws have between 4 and six similarly sized [[incisor|incisor-like]] teeth as the front with no more than 3 rows of molars to the rear of them which become increasing trapezoid towards the rear of the jaws. The area between the eyes, the soft rayed part s of both the [[dorsal fin|dorsal]] and [[anal fin]]s are naked and the flange of the [[preoperculum]] are all scaleless, although the preopercular flange may have a few scales on it.<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 goldined seabream (''R. sarba'') is the largest species in the genus with a maximum published [[total length]] of {{cvt|80|cm}} while with a maximum published [[standard length]] of {{cvt|28.9|cm}} the blackish stumpnose (''R. niger'') is the smallest.<ref name = Fishbase/>

==Distribution and habitat== ''Rhabdosargus'' seabreams are found in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean and in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.<ref name = Fishbase/> They are found in coastal waters, often over sand substrates with the juveniles often using estuaries as nursery areas.<ref name = WIOF/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Rhabdosargus| ]] [[Category:Marine fish genera]] [[Category:Taxa named by Henry Weed Fowler]] [[Category:Spariform fish genera]]