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Stromateidae
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| Butterfish Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Peprilus paru | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Clade: | Percomorpha |
| Order: | Scombriformes |
| Suborder: | Stromateoidei |
| Family: | Stromateidae Rafinesque, 1810 |
| Genera | |
|
See text for species. | |
The family Stromateidae or butterfish contains 15 species of ray-finned fish in three genera. Butterfishes live in coastal waters off the Americas, western Africa and in the Indo-Pacific.
The endemic New Zealand species Odax pullus is commonly called butterfish, but is from a separate family Odacidae. The Japanese butterfish Psenopsis anomala is from the separate family Centrolophidae. The African butter catfish is also known as the butter fish. In South Australia, the Argyrosomus japonicus is commonly called butterfish as well.
Species
[edit]- Genus Pampus
- Silver or white pomfret, Pampus argenteus (Euphrasen, 1788); Synonym: P. cinereus (Bloch, 1795).[1]
- Chinese silver pomfret, Pampus chinensis (Euphrasen, 1788):
- Pampus echinogaster (Basilewsky, 1855).
- Southern lesser pomfret, Pampus minor Liu & Li, 1998.
- Pampus punctatissimus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1845).
- Genus Peprilus
- Gulf butterfish, Peprilus burti Fowler, 1944.
- Pacific harvestfish, Peprilus medius (Peters, 1869).
- Shining butterfish, Peprilus ovatus Horn, 1970.
- Harvestfish (American harvestfish) Peprilus paru (Linnaeus, 1758).
- Pacific pompano, Peprilus simillimus (Ayres, 1860).
- Salema butterfish, Peprilus snyderi Gilbert & Starks, 1904.
- Atlantic butterfish (aka American butterfish), Peprilus triacanthus (Peck, 1804).[2]
- Genus Stromateus
Fossil species
[edit]- †Pinichthys Bannikov, 1985
- †P. fractus Bannikov, 1985
- †P. pulcher Bannikov, 1988
- †P. shirvanensis Bannikov, 2021
The only known fossil butterfish is Pinichthys from the Early Oligocene to Miocene of Germany, Poland, Ukraine, North Caucasus (Russia) and Azerbaijan. It may potentially be the common ancestor of all extant butterfish genera.[3][4][5]
Timeline
[edit]
Mislabelling
[edit]Escolar is sometimes fraudulently labelled as butterfish. This can be more hazardous than other fish mislabeling due to the potential health effects of escolar.
References
[edit]- ^ Fishbase: Synonyms of Pampus argenteus
- ^ FishBase Common names of Peprilus triacanthus
- ^ Bannikov, A. F. (2021-11-01). "A New Species of Stromateid Fish (Perciformes, Stromateoidei) of the Genus Pinichthys from the Tarkhanian (Lowermost Middle Miocene) of the Northwestern Caucasus". Paleontological Journal. 55 (6): 671–677. doi:10.1134/S0031030121060046. ISSN 1555-6174.
- ^ "PBDB Taxon". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
- ^ Bannikov, Alexandre F. (1995-01-01). "Morphology and phylogeny offossil stromateoid fishes (Perciformes)". Geobios. Premiers Vertandébrandés et Vertandébrandés Infandérieurs. 28: 177–181. doi:10.1016/S0016-6995(95)80109-X. ISSN 0016-6995.
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Family Stromateidae". FishBase. January 2006 version.
Stromateidae
View on GrokipediaTaxonomy and Systematics
Classification
Stromateidae belongs to the kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class Actinopterygii, order Scombriformes, suborder Stromateoidei, and family Stromateidae.[4][5] This hierarchical placement reflects the family's position among ray-finned fishes, characterized by advanced percomorph traits such as a spinous dorsal fin and specific cranial modifications.[4] Phylogenetically, Stromateidae is nested within the diverse Percomorpha clade, a major subdivision of Acanthopterygii that encompasses over 17,000 species of advanced bony fishes.[4] Within Scombriformes, the family shares close affinities with other pelagic groups, including the suborder Icosteoidei (containing families like Icosteidae), supported by molecular and morphological data indicating a shared ancestry in the series Pelagiaria.[4][6] This positioning highlights Stromateidae's evolutionary ties to open-ocean lineages adapted to epipelagic environments.[4] The family was originally established by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1810, based on observations of butterfish-like species with distinctive compressed bodies and fin structures.[5] Subsequent revisions have maintained the name Stromateidae without significant synonymy, though earlier classifications sometimes grouped it under broader Perciformes arrangements before molecular phylogenies refined its placement in Scombriformes.[4][7] The family currently includes 3 genera and 21 species.[8]Genera and Species Diversity
The family Stromateidae encompasses three genera: Peprilus Cuvier, 1829, with 9 valid species; Stromateus Linnaeus, 1758, with 3 valid species; and Pampus Bonaparte, 1834, with 9 valid species, yielding a total of 21 extant species.[9][10][11] Recent phylogenetic studies have proposed revisions, suggesting approximately 7 valid species in Pampus due to synonymies and cryptic diversity.[12][13] The genus Peprilus, derived from the ancient Greek "peprilos," an obscure name for a Thracian fish, comprises the most species within the family and is distinguished by its primarily Atlantic distribution, with additional representation in the eastern Pacific; species such as P. triacanthus and P. paru are widespread along western Atlantic coasts from North America to Argentina, while P. simillimus occurs in the northeastern Pacific from Canada to Mexico.[14][9] In contrast, Stromateus, named from the ancient Greek "stromateus" meaning a flat, patchwork-like fish alluding to its compressed body and coloration, features species in tropical and subtropical waters across the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific; for instance, S. fiatola ranges from the Mediterranean to South Africa, S. stellatus inhabits the Indo-West Pacific, and S. brasiliensis is restricted to the southwestern Atlantic off Brazil and Argentina.[14][10] Pampus, etymologically from the Spanish/Portuguese vernacular "pompano" for silvery, compressed fishes, shows the highest endemism within the Indo-West Pacific, with all species confined to coastal and shelf waters from the Arabian Sea to the western Pacific; notable examples include P. argenteus and P. chinensis, which exhibit broad distributions across the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, reflecting historical connectivity via the Tethys Seaway.[14][11][12] Diversity patterns indicate a concentration of species richness in Peprilus and Pampus, with over 80% of the family's species in these two genera, while Stromateus represents a transitional form bridging Atlantic and Indo-Pacific realms; overall, the family displays a bimodal distribution, with Atlantic-centric (Peprilus) and Indo-Pacific-dominant (Pampus) clades separated by limited gene flow across the Arabian Peninsula.[8][12]| Genus | Valid Species Count | Primary Distribution Patterns |
|---|---|---|
| Peprilus | 9 | Atlantic (widespread, western and eastern); eastern Pacific (limited) |
| Stromateus | 3 | Tropical/subtropical Atlantic and Indo-Pacific |
| Pampus | 9 | Indo-West Pacific (coastal to shelf waters) |