The Priacanthidae, the bigeyes, are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

of 18 species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

es. " Catalufa" is an alternate common name for some members of the Priacanthidae. The

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

of the scientific name (, to bite + , thorn) refers to the family's very rough, spined scales. The common name of "bigeye" refers to the member species' unusually large eyes, suited to their

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...

and

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

lifestyles. Priacanthidae are typically colored bright red, but some have patterns in silver, dusky brown, or black. Most species reach a maximum total length of about , although in a few species lengths of over are known. Most members of this family are native to

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, but four species (''

Cookeolus japonicus ''Cookeolus japonicus'' is a species of fish in the family Priacanthidae, the bigeyes and catalufas. It is the only extant species of ''Cookeolus'', except for '' C. spinolacrymatus'', an extinct Late Pliocene fish known from a fossil specimen co ...

'', ''Heteropriacanthus cruentatus'', ''

Priacanthus arenatus ''Priacanthus arenatus'', the toro or Atlantic bigeye, is a species of marine ray finned fish, a bigeye in the family Priacanthidae. Some anglers refer to this fish as "toro snapper", but it is not a snapper, and only distantly related to the ...

'', and ''Pristigenys alta'') are found in the Atlantic. They tend to live near rock outcroppings or

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

s, although a few are known to inhabit open waters. Many species are found in relatively deep waters, below depths reachable by normal

scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

. Some species are fished for food. The earliest identified Priacanthidae

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

s date to the middle

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

epoch of the lower

Tertiary period The Tertiary ( ) is an obsolete Period (geology), geologic period spanning 66 million to 2.6 or 1.8 million years ago. The period began with the extinction of the non-bird, avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at t ...

, or roughly 40 to 50 million years ago.

Species

The 18 species in four genera are: * Genus ''

Cookeolus ''Cookeolus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes from the family Priacanthidae, the bigeyes. It contains one extant species and one extinct species. Species The following species are classified within the genus ''Cookeolus'': *'' Cookeolus ...

'' Fowler, 1928 **''

'' (

Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

, 1829) - Longfinned bullseye **†''

Cookeolus spinolacrymatus ''Cookeolus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes from the family Priacanthidae, the bigeyes. It contains one extant species and one extinct species. Species The following species are classified within the genus ''Cookeolus'': *''Cookeolus j ...

'' Kon & Yoshino, 1997 * Genus ''

Heteropriacanthus ''Heteropriacanthus'', the glasseyes or glass bigeyes, are a genus of the bigeye family found in all tropical seas around the world. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of in total length. The glasseyes h ...

'' Fitch & Crooke, 1984 **''

Heteropriacanthus cruentatus ''Heteropriacanthus'', the glasseyes or glass bigeyes, are a genus of the bigeye family found in all tropical seas around the world. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of in total length. The glasseyes ha ...

'' ( Lacépède, 1801) - Glasseye * Genus ''

Priacanthus ''Priacanthus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Priacanthidae, the bigeyes. As of 2012 there are 12 species in the genus.Goren, M., et al. (2010)First record of the Indo-Pacific arrow bulleye ''Priacanthus sagittari ...

'' Oken, 1817 **''

Priacanthus alalaua ''Priacanthus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Priacanthidae, the bigeyes. As of 2012 there are 12 species in the genus.Goren, M., et al. (2010)First record of the Indo-Pacific arrow bulleye ''Priacanthus sagittari ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

& Evermann, 1903 - Alalaua ** ''

'' Cuvier, 1829 - Atlantic bigeye ** ''

Priacanthus blochii ''Priacanthus blochii'', the paeony bulleye, is a species of marine ray finned fish, a bigeye in the family Priacanthidae. Other common names for this species include Bloch's bigeye, blotched bigeye, glass-eye bigeye, shortfin bigeye, silver big- ...

'' Bleeker, 1853 - Paeony bulleye ** '' Priacanthus fitchi'' Starnes, 1988 ** ''

Priacanthus hamrur ''Priacanthus hamrur'', the lunar-tailed bigeye, goggle eye, or moontail bullseye, is a species of marine fishes belonging to the family Priacanthidae. Distribution This species is uncommon but widespread in the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea an ...

'' ( Forsskål, 1775) - Moontail bullseye ** ''

Priacanthus macracanthus ''Priacanthus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Priacanthidae, the bigeyes. As of 2012 there are 12 species in the genus.Goren, M., et al. (2010)First record of the Indo-Pacific arrow bulleye ''Priacanthus sagittari ...

'' Cuvier, 1829 - Red bigeye ** '' Priacanthus meeki''

Jenkins Jenkins may refer to: People * Jenkins (name), history of the surname * List of people with surname Jenkins * The Jenkins, country music group Places United States * Jenkins, Illinois *Jenkins, Kentucky * Jenkins, Minnesota * Jenkins, Missour ...

, 1903 - Hawaiian bigeye ** '' Priacanthus nasca'' Starnes, 1988 ** ''

Priacanthus prolixus ''Priacanthus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Priacanthidae, the bigeyes. As of 2012 there are 12 species in the genus.Goren, M., et al. (2010)First record of the Indo-Pacific arrow bulleye ''Priacanthus sagittari ...

'' Starnes, 1988 - Elongate bulleye ** ''

Priacanthus sagittarius ''Priacanthus sagittarius'', The arrow bulleye, is a species of marine ray finned fish, a bigeye in the family Priacanthidae. It is native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is also observed since 2009, in rare occasions, in the eastern Medite ...

'' Starnes, 1988 - Arrow bulleye ** ''

Priacanthus tayenus ''Priacanthus tayenus'', commonly known as purple-spotted bigeye, is a species of marine ray finned fish, a bigeye in the family Priacanthidae The Priacanthidae, the bigeyes, are a Family (biology), family of 18 species of marine ray-finned ...

'' Richardson, 1846 - Purple-spotted bigeye ** ''

Priacanthus zaiserae ''Priacanthus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Priacanthidae, the bigeyes. As of 2012 there are 12 species in the genus.Goren, M., et al. (2010)First record of the Indo-Pacific arrow bulleye ''Priacanthus sagittari ...

'' Starnes & Moyer, 1988 ** † ''

Priacanthus liui ''Priacanthus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Priacanthidae, the bigeyes. As of 2012 there are 12 species in the genus.Goren, M., et al. (2010)First record of the Indo-Pacific arrow bulleye ''Priacanthus sagittari ...

Tao The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. T ...

, 1993 * Genus '' Pristigenys''

Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he recei ...

1835 ** '' Pristigenys alta'' (Gill, 1862) - Short bigeye ** '' Pristigenys meyeri'' ( Günther, 1872) ** '' Pristigenys niphonia'' (Cuvier, 1829) - Japanese bigeye ** ''

Pristigenys serrula The popeye catalufa (''Pristigenys serrula''), also known as the bigeye soldierfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the family Priacanthidae, the bigeyes. This fish has an overall dusky orange to red colour with white markings. The do ...

'' ( Gilbert, 1891) - Popeye catalufa ** ''

Pristigenys substriatus ''Pristigenys'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish in the Family (biology), family Priacanthidae. It contains five extant species and one extinct species, ''P. substriata'', which is known from fossils found in the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy. ...

'' ( Blainville, 1818)

Timeline of genera

ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px Period = from:-66 till:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:-66 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-66 TimeAxis = orientation:hor AlignBars = justify Colors = #legends id:CAR value:claret id:ANK value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196) id:HER value:teal id:HAD value:green id:OMN value:blue id:black value:black id:white value:white id:cenozoic value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258) id:paleogene value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32) id:paleocene value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37) id:eocene value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42) id:oligocene value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48) id:neogene value:rgb(0.999999,0.9,0.1) id:miocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.999999,0) id:pliocene value:rgb(0.97,0.98,0.68) id:quaternary value:rgb(0.98,0.98,0.5) id:pleistocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.95,0.68) id:holocene value:rgb(0.999,0.95,0.88) BarData= bar:eratop bar:space bar:periodtop bar:space bar:NAM1 bar:NAM2 bar:space bar:period bar:space bar:era PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 shift:(7,-4) bar:periodtop from: -66 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:

Paleocene The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...

from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:

from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:

Pleist. The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:eratop from: -66 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

Paleogene The Paleogene Period ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Neogene Period Ma. It is the fir ...

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

Neogene The Neogene ( ,) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period million years ago. It is the second period of th ...

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q. PlotData= align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left color:eocene bar:NAM1 from: -55.8 till: 0 text: Pristigenys color:oligocene bar:NAM2 from: -33.9 till: 0 text:

PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 bar:period from: -66 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:

from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:

from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:

from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:

from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:era from: -66 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q.

References

* * {{Authority control Taxa named by Albert Günther Acanthuriformes families