''Lithognathus'' is ''a'' marine fish genus in the family
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 ...
, members of which are commonly known as steenbras. They are primarily found in coastal regions in
Southern Africa (
South Africa,
Namibia and
Angola), but ''L. mormyrus'' also occurs in the
Mediterranean Sea,
Black Sea,
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
and off various islands in the northeast Atlantic. Depending on the exact species involved, they reach a maximum length of between .
It is parasitized by ''
Cymothoa exigua
''Cymothoa exigua'', or the tongue-eating louse, is a parasitic isopod of the family Cymothoidae. It enters fish through the gills. The female attaches to the tongue, while the male attaches to the gill arches beneath and behind the female. Fe ...
''.
Species
The
World Register of Marine Species lists the following four species :
[
*'']Lithognathus aureti
The west coast seabream or west coast steenbras (''Lithognathus aureti'') is a species of marine fish in the family Sparidae. It is found in very shallow water off the coasts of to Angola, Namibia and South Africa. The International Union for Con ...
'' Smith, 1962 - West coast seabream
*''Lithognathus lithognathus
The white steenbras (''Lithognathus lithognathus'') is a species of fish in the family Sparidae endemic to South Africa. Due to overfishing, primarily by seine netting operations in False Bay, the white steenbras is now endangered and is about t ...
'' (Cuvier, 1829) - White steenbras
*'' Lithognathus mormyrus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) - Sand steenbras
*''Lithognathus olivieri
''Lithognathus'' is ''a'' marine fish genus in the family Sparidae, members of which are commonly known as steenbras. They are primarily found in coastal regions in Southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia and Angola), but ''L. mormyrus'' also occ ...
'' Penrith & Penrith, 1969 - Steenbras
References
Extant Miocene first appearances
Marine fish genera
Taxa named by William John Swainson
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Perciformes-stub