''Paranthias'' 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 ...

grouper Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is u ...

s from the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Epinephelinae Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is u ...

, part of 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 ...

Serranidae The Serranidae are a large family of fishes belonging to the order Perciformes. The family contains about 450 species in 65 genera, including the sea basses and the groupers (subfamily Epinephelinae). Although many species are small, in some case ...

, which also includes the

anthias Anthias are members of the family Serranidae and make up the subfamily Anthiinae. Anthias make up a sizeable portion of the population of pink, orange, and yellow reef fishes seen swarming in most coral reef photography and film. The name Anthi ...

and sea basses. They are found in the Atlantic Ocean and the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Characteristics

The species in the genus ''Paranthias'' are unique among the groupers in that they have a relatively small mouth, the upper jaw being more protrusible than that of other groupers,s], with small teeth and many elongated gill rakers, and a fusiform body which ends in a deeply forked

caudal 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 ...

. These departures from the more normal morphology of groupers are adaptations for feeding on

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

in open water. They are visual hunters which pick off zooplankton from the middle of the water column and they have a relatively short snout which allows them to employ binocular vision. They are social fish which are normally seen in diurnal feeding aggregations, diving to shelter in the reef when threatened. They reach a maximum

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

The two species in the genus ''Paranthias'' each occur in different oceans, the creole-fish (''P. furcifer'') is found mainly in the warmer waters of the western Atlantic Ocean but its range extends to

Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory o ...

and the islands in the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...

in the eastern Atlantic. The Pacific creole-fish occurs in the tropical and subtropical eastern Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Paranthias'' was created in 1863 by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

ichthyologist

Theodore Nicholas Gill Theodore Nicholas Gill (March 21, 1837 – September 25, 1914) was an American ichthyologist, mammalogist, malacologist and librarian. Career Born and educated in New York City under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural history ...

(1837-1914) as a

monotypic genus 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 ...

containing only the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

''Serranus furcifer'' and for a long period the Pacific creole-fish was considered conspecific with the creole-fish.

Species

It contains the following species: *''

Paranthias colonus ''Paranthias colonus'' (the Pacific creolefish) is a species of grouper found in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. They are typically found in small aggregations well above reefs, but will retreat to the reef at the approach of danger. They form large m ...

'' (Valenciennes, 1846) (Pacific creole-fish) *''

Paranthias furcifer ''Paranthias'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, groupers from the subfamily Epinephelinae, part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. They are found in the Atlantic Ocean and the eastern Pacific Ocean. ...

'' (Valenciennes, 1828) (Creole-fish)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2059248 Epinephelini Taxa named by Alphonse Guichenot