''Parabembras'' is a

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 ...

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 ...

Bembridae Bembridae, the deep-water flatheads, are a family of bottom-dwelling ray-finned fishes. They are found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. Taxonomy Bembridae was first proposed as a family in 1873 by the German zoologist Johann Jakob Kaup ...

, the deepwater flatheads, although they are sufficiently different from the other genera in that family to be classified as their own family, Parabembradidae, by some authorities. These fishes are found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

''Parabembras'' was first described as a genus in 1874 by the Dutch

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

and

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 ...

Pieter Bleeker Pieter Bleeker (10 July 1819 – 24 January 1878) was a Dutch medical doctor, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He was famous for the ''Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises'', his monumental work on the fishes of East Asia ...

as a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus with its only species being ''Bembras curtus''. which had been described in 1843 by

Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch aristocrat, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. From his father, Jacob Temminck ...

and

Schlegel Schlegel is a German occupational surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anthony Schlegel (born 1981), former American football linebacker * August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845), German poet, older brother of Friedrich * Brad Schlege ...

from

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

. The 5th edition of Fishes of the World places ''Parabembras'' in the family Bembridae with the other deepwater flatheads but other authorities classify it within its own monotypic family, the Parabembradidae. Parabembradidae was first proposed as a family in 1925, with the name then being Parabembridae, by the American ichthyologists

David Starr Jordan David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Univer ...

and

Carl Leavitt Hubbs Carl Leavitt Hubbs (October 19, 1894 – June 30, 1979) was an American ichthyologist. Biography Youth He was born in Williams, Arizona. He was the son of Charles Leavitt and Elizabeth (née Goss) Hubbs. His father had a wide variety of jobs (f ...

Species

The currently recognized species in this genus are: with a new species described in 2018. * '' Parabembras curta'' (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) - northwestern Pacific * '' Parabembras multisquamata'' Kai, Fricke, 2018 - southwestern Pacific and the Philippines * '' Parabembras robinsoni''

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' ...

, 1921 (African deep-water flathead) - southwestern Indian Ocean

Etymology

''Parabembras'' combines ''para'', meaning "near", with '' Bembras'', the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal f ...

of the Bembridae and the original genus of ''P. curta''.

Characteristics

Parabembras differs from the other Bembrid genera by having 3 spines in 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 ...

whereas the others have none. The lower jaw protrudes past the lower and the maxilla is narrow to its rear. These flatheads vary in size from ''P. curta'', which has a maximum published

standard 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 m ...

of , to ''P. robinsoni'', which 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 .

Distribution and habitat

''Parabembras'' deepwater flatheads are found in the southwestern Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific Ocean. They are demersal to bathydemersal fishes living down to depths of .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13999358 Bembridae Monotypic fish genera Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker