''Chrysoblephus anglicus'', the Englishman seabream, is a species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Sparidae The Sparidae are a family of fish in the order Perciformes, commonly called sea breams and porgies. The sheepshead, scup, and red seabream are species in this family. Most sparids are deep-bodied compressed fish with a small mouth separated by a ...

, the seabreams and porgies. This fish is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

Taxonomy

''Chrysoblephus anglicus'' was first formally described as ''Chrysophrys anglicus'' in 1908 by the

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

John Dow Fisher Gilchrist John Dow Fisher Gilchrist (1866–1926) was a Scottish ichthyologist, who established ichthyology as a scientific discipline in South Africa. He was instrumental in the development of marine biology in South Africa and of a scientifically based ...

, a Scot, and

William Wardlaw Thompson William Wardlaw Thompson (date of birth unknown - died 1917) was a South African ichthyologist and zoologist. It is known that he was educated at the South African College in Cape Town between 1858 and 1863 and that he obtained a post on the civi ...

, a South African, with its type locality given as

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, South Africa. The

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

'' Chrysoblephus'' is placed in the family Sparidae within the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Spariformes by the 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the ...

''. Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Sparinae, but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.

Etymology

''Chrysoblephus anglicus'' has the

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''anglicus'', which means "English". This presumably follows its common name in South Africa, Englishman seabream.

Description

''Chrysoblephus anglicus'' has a

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

which is supported by 12 spines, the third to fifth spines are elongated but they are no longer than the length of the head, and 10 soft rays. The

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

contains 3 spines and 8 soft rays. It has a deep and compressed body with a blunt snout, the dorsal profile of the head between the upper lip and the forehead is almost vertical, before sloping gently to the orogn of the dorsal fin. The overall colour of this fish is reddish, paler ventrally, with around 4 darker reddish vertical bars which may be very indistinct. The scales have blue spots on them which form rows. The Englishman seabream has a maximum published

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of , although is more typical.

Distribution and habitat

''Chrysoblephus anglicus'' is endemic to the southwestern Indian Ocean where it is found between the mouth of the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountaino ...

in southern Mozambique to

Algoa Bay Algoa Bay is a maritime bay in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is located in the east coast, east of the Cape of Good Hope. Algoa Bay is bounded in the west by Cape Recife and in the east by Cape Padrone. The bay is up to deep. The harbour c ...

in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

, South Africa. It is found on coral and rocky reefs at depths between .

Biology

''Chrysoblephus anglicus'' feeds on crabs, prawns, bivalves, squid and, sometimes, fish. It may ben found as a solitary fish or in small

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

, sometimes mixed with '' C. puniceus''. The reproductive biology of this species is liitke known but

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquati ...

occurs in the spring and some adults are

protogynous Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is a type of hermaphroditism In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and ...

Fisheries and conservation

''Chrysoblephus anglicus'' ranks as the fifth most important reef fish species landed by the commercial line fishery off Kwazulu-Natal. Stock assessments have shown that the stock had "collapsed" and there were indications that Englishman seabream is being increasingly targeted in KwaZulu-Natal, as other preferred linefish species decline in abundance due to

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...

. There was roughly a 70% decline in this species landed between 1987 and 2007. This species is endemic to Southern Africa with a limited range and is suspected to be, at least partially, a protogynous hermaphrodite. This means that overexploitation of larger fishes results in the sex ratio of the adults becoming skewed in favour of females. This evidence of overfishing, population declines have led to a number of stock management measures being put in place for this species. The IUCN have classified this species as being

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q952202 anglicus Endemic fish of South Africa Fish described in 1908 Taxa named by John Dow Fisher Gilchrist Taxa named by William Wardlaw Thompson