Scatophagidae

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Scathophagidae, a fly family.

Scats
Temporal range: Eocene–Recent
Scatophagus argus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Superfamily: Siganoidea
Family: Scatophagidae
Gill, 1883[1]
Genera

See text

Synonyms[1]

Prenidae Whiley, 1956

Scatophagidae, the scats are a small

ray-finned fishes in the order Perciformes. They are found in the Indo-Pacific
region but one species has been introduced elsewhere.

Taxonomy

Scatophagidae was first formally described as a family in 1883 by the American ichthyologist Theodore Nicholas Gill.

Eupercaria.[4] The name of the family comes from its type genus Scatophagus and this is a compound of skatos meaning "dung" and phaga which means to eat, a reference to this species purported taste for human faeces.[5]

Genera

There are two genera classified within the Scatophagidae, each containing two extant species:[6]

Scatophagus frontalis
fossil

Characteristics

Scatophagidae fishes, the scats, have highly compressed, oblong bodies. The dorsal profile of the head rises steeply to the nape, they have a rounded snout, as is the space between the eyes. The small mouth is horizontal, and cannot be protruded, and has several rows of small bristle like teeth on the jaws. There are no teeth on the roof of the mouth. The

Selenotoca multifasciata.[3]

Distribution and habitat

Scatophagidae is native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans from the eastern coast of Africa into the western Pacific.[3] The spotted scat (Scatophagus argus) has been introduced to Malta, where it has become established, and it has been recorded from Florida.[8] Scats are found in harbours, brackish estuaries, and the lower reaches of freshwater streams.[7]

Biology

Scatophagidae fishes normally occur in schools and they feed during the day on a variety of benthic invertebrates, bottom detritus, algae and refuse.[7]

Utilisation

Scatophagidae fishes are too small to be of interest to commercial fisheries as food, they are caught using gill nets and fish traps.[7] They appear in the aquarium trade.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of Recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 001–230. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  2. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6
    .
  3. ^ a b c Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2021). "Acanthuriformes" in FishBase. June 2021 version.
  4. PMID 28683774
    .
  5. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (12 January 2021). "Order Acanthuriformes (part 2): Families Ephippidae, Leiognathidae, Scatophagidae, Antigoniidae, Siganidae, Caproidae, Luvaridae, Zanclidae and Acanthuridae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  6. ^ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2021). "Scatophagidae" in FishBase. June 2021 version.
  7. ^ a b c d "Scatophagidae" (PDF). FAO Species Identification Sheets. FAO. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  8. ^ Schofield, P.J. (2021). "Scatophagus argus (Linnaeus, 1766)". Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Scatophagus argus". Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine. April 2004. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
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