''Synaptura'' 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 soles. Most species are found in salt and

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

water in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

and tropical East Atlantic, but ''S. salinarum'' is restricted to fresh water in Australia. The largest species in the genus reaches a length of .

Paul Chabanaud Paul Chabanaud (30 November 1876, in Versailles – 27 February 1959) was a French ichthyologist and herpetologist. Beginning in 1915, he worked as a volunteer under zoologist Louis Roule at the ''Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle'' in Pari ...

retained the genus named ''Synaptura'' for this group and he designated ''Pleuronectes commersonnii''as its type species. This designation is incorrect according to the

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the ...

and ''Synaptura'' as designated by Theodore Edward Cantor is a synonym of ''

Brachirus ''Brachirus'' is a genus of small and medium-sized soles. Most are native to marine and brackish waters in the Indo-Pacific, but several species can also be seen freshwater in southern Asia, Eastern Africa, New Guinea and Australia. Species The ...

''. Due to this some workers have assigned the species previously assigned to ''Synaptura'', as raised by Chabanaud to '' Dagetichthys'', a previously

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 which contained just '' Dagetichthys lakdoensis''. This more broadly defined ''Dagetichthys'' for a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

. '' Buglossidium luteum'' seems to be the most closely related taxon to ''Dagetichthys''.

Species

There are currently seven recognized species in this genus: * '' Synaptura albomaculata'' Kaup, 1858 (Kaup's sole) * ''

Synaptura cadenati ''Synaptura'' is a genus of soles. Most species are found in salt and brackish water in the Indo-Pacific and tropical East Atlantic, but ''S. salinarum'' is restricted to fresh water in Australia. The largest species in the genus reaches a lengt ...

'' Chabanaud, 1948 (Guinean sole) * ''

Synaptura commersonnii ''Synaptura'' is a genus of Soleidae, soles. Most species are found in salt and brackish water in the Indo-Pacific and tropical East Atlantic, but ''S. salinarum'' is restricted to fresh water in Australia. The largest species in the genus reache ...

'' (

Lacépède Lacepede can refer to: * Bernard Germain de Lacépède (1756–1825), French naturalist and politician. * Lacepede Bay, a bay in South Australia. * Lacépède, Lot-et-Garonne, a ''commune'' in France * Lacepede Islands, a group of four islands in t ...

, 1802) (Commerson's sole) * '' Synaptura lusitanica'' de Brito Capello, 1868 ** '' Synaptura lusitanica lusitanica'' de Brito Capello, 1868 (Portuguese sole) ** '' Synaptura lusitanica nigromaculata'' Pellegrin, 1905 * ''

Synaptura marginata ''Synaptura'' is a genus of soles. Most species are found in salt and brackish water in the Indo-Pacific and tropical East Atlantic, but ''S. salinarum'' is restricted to fresh water in Australia. The largest species in the genus reaches a lengt ...

Boulenger Boulenger is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Benjamin Boulenger (born 1990), French footballer * Edward George Boulenger (1888–1946), British zoologist, director of aquarium at London Zoo * George Albert Boulenger (1858–1 ...

, 1900 (White-margined sole) * '' Synaptura megalepidoura'' ( Fowler, 1934) * '' Synaptura salinarum'' ( J. D. Ogilby, 1910) (Saltpan sole)

References

Soleidae Ray-finned fish genera Taxa named by Theodore Edward Cantor {{Pleuronectiformes-stub