The Priacanthidae, the bigeyes, are a family of 18 species of marine fishes. "Catalufa" is an alternate common name for some members of the Priacanthidae family. The etymology of the scientific name (prioo-, to bite + akantha, thorn) refers to the family's very rough, spined scales. The common name of "bigeye" refers to the member species' unusually large eyes, suited to their carnivorous and nocturnal lifestyles. Priacanthidae are typically colored bright red, but some have patterns in silver, dusky brown, or black. Most species reach a maximum total length of about 30Â cm (12Â in), although in a few species lengths of over 50Â cm (20Â in) are known.
Most members of this family are native to tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, but four species (Cookeolus japonicus, Heteropriacanthus cruentatus, Priacanthus arenatus, and Pristigenys alta) are found in the Atlantic. They tend to live near rock outcroppings or reefs, although a few are known to inhabit open waters. Many species are found in relatively deep waters, below depths reachable by normal scuba diving. Some species are fished for food.
The earliest identified Priacanthidae fossils date to the middle Eocene epoch of the lower Tertiary period, or roughly 40 to 50 million years ago.
Species
The 18 species in four genera are:
- Genus Cookeolus
- Longfinned bullseye, Cookeolus japonicus (Cuvier, 1829).
- Genus Heteropriacanthus
- Glasseye, Heteropriacanthus cruentatus (Lacépède, 1801).
- Genus Priacanthus
- Alalaua, Priacanthus alalaua Jordan & Evermann, 1903.
- Atlantic bigeye, Priacanthus arenatus Cuvier, 1829.
- Paeony bulleye, Priacanthus blochii Bleeker, 1853.
- Priacanthus fitchi Starnes, 1988.
- Moontail bullseye, Priacanthus hamrur (Forsskål, 1775).
- Red bigeye, Priacanthus macracanthus Cuvier, 1829.
- Hawaiian bigeye, Priacanthus meeki Jenkins, 1903.
- Priacanthus nasca Starnes, 1988.
- Elongate bulleye, Priacanthus prolixus Starnes, 1988.
- Arrow bulleye, Priacanthus sagittarius Starnes, 1988.
- Purple-spotted bigeye, Priacanthus tayenus Richardson, 1846.
- Priacanthus zaiserae Starnes & Moyer, 1988.
- Genus Pristigenys
- Short bigeye, Pristigenys alta (Gill, 1862).
- Pristigenys meyeri (Günther, 1872).
- Japanese bigeye, Pristigenys niphonia (Cuvier, 1829).
- Popeye catalufa, Pristigenys serrula (Gilbert, 1891).
Timeline of genera
References
- Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Priacanthidae" in FishBase. January 2006 version.
- Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Retrieved 2011-05-19.Â
External links
