''Parabembras curta'', is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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. It is found in western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Taxonomy

''Parabembras curta'' was first formally described as ''Brembras curtus'' in 1843 by

Coenraad Jacob Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch people, Dutch Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, Zoology, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dut ...

and

Hermann Schlegel Hermann Schlegel (10 June 1804 – 17 January 1884) was a German ornithologist, herpetologist and ichthyologist. Early life and education Schlegel was born at Altenburg, the son of a brassfounder. His father collected butterflies, which stimula ...

with its type locality given as Nagasaki in Japan. In 1978 Pieter Bleeker recognised that this species should be placed in a different genus from ''

Bembras ''Bembras'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Bembridae, the deepwater flatheads. These fishes are found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy ''Bembras'' was first proposed as a monotypic genus i ...

'' and so he classified it in a new monotypic genus he called ''Parabembras''. This genus is sufficiently different from the other genera in that family to be classified as their own family, Parabembradidae, by some authorities. 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 ...

''curta'' means "short" and although Temminck and Schlegel did not explain this it is thought to be a reference to the shorter snout of this species in conmparison to '' Brembas japonicus''.

Description

''Parabembras curta'' has a head and body which is reddish orange and white ventrally. The fins are red in color. There is no symphyseal knob on the lower jaw, and this is the clear difference from ''

Parabembras robinsoni ''Parabembras robinsoni'', the African deep-water flathead, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Bembridae, the deepwater flatheads. It is found in Western Indian Ocean off southeastern Africa. Taxonomy ''Parabembras rob ...

''. A single preocular spine two robust lachrymal spines present. There are 6–8 supraocular spines, 9 spines in the first dorsal fin and 34–39 pored lateral-line scales. Body cylindrical and posteriorly weakly compressed. Scales ctenoid. Opercle with upper and lower spines. Mouth large and slightly oblique. This species attains 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 .

Distribution and habitat

''Parabembras curta'' is found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean where it has been recorded from Japan and Korea south to Taiwan and mainland China. It is a benthic species living on sand or mud substrates at depths between .

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3907508 Fish described in 1843 curtus Taxa named by Coenraad Jacob Temminck Taxa named by Hermann Schlegel