''Pterycombus'' 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 ...

pomfret Pomfrets are perciform fishes belonging to the family Bramidae. The family currently includes 20 species across seven genera. Several species are important food sources for humans, especially ''Brama brama'' in South Asia. The earlier form of t ...

distinguished by greatly elongated dorsal and anal fins. Along with the genus ''

Pteraclis ''Pteraclis'' is a genus of fish in the family Bramidae, the pomfrets. They are known commonly as fanfishes. The three species are distributed throughout the oceans of the world. Species Species include: * ''Pteraclis aesticola'' ( D. S. Jordan ...

'', these fishes are commonly referred to as fanfishes. ''Pterycombus'' can be distinguished from ''Pteraclis'' by examining the dorsal and anal fin rays, which should be relatively uniform in thickness to neighboring rays and by a lack of scales anterior to the dorsal fin.

Species

Currently, there are two recognized species in this genus: * ''

Pterycombus brama ''Pterycombus brama'' is a species of fish belonging to the family Bramidae. Its native range is Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of ...

'', Atlantic fanfish (

Fries French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips (Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. The ...

, 1837) * ''

Pterycombus petersii ''Pterycombus'' is a genus of pomfret distinguished by greatly elongated dorsal and anal fins. Along with the genus '' Pteraclis'', these fishes are commonly referred to as fanfishes. ''Pterycombus'' can be distinguished from ''Pteraclis'' by exa ...

'', prickly fanfish ( Hilgendorf, 1878)

Species Distinction

''Pterycombus brama'' can be distinguished from ''Pterycombus petersii'' by measuring the length of the longest dorsal and anal fin rays. In ''P. brama'', the longest ray will be greater than half standard length, but will be less than half standard length in ''P. petersii''. These two species can also be distinguished by geographic location. ''P. brama'' is generally distributed throughout the North and Central Atlantic Ocean, while ''P. petersii'' inhabits Pacific waters from Southern Africa to the Indo-Pacific. However, ''P. petersii'' has recently been found in the eastern North Pacific off the coast of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, suggesting that it may have a greater distribution throughout Pacific waters.

References

Bramidae {{Perciformes-stub