Variola (fish)
| Variola | |
|---|---|
| |
| Variola louti | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Serranidae |
| Subfamily: | Epinephelinae |
| Genus: | Variola Swainson, 1839 |
| Type species | |
Variola longipinna
Swainson, 1839[1] | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
|
Pseudoserranus Klunzinger, 1870 | |
Variola, the lyretails, is a
Epinephelinae, part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. They are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific and their distribution extends from the Red Sea to South Africa across the Indian Ocean and east to the islands of the central Pacific.[3]
Characteristics
The lyretails have an oblong shaped body which has a depth that is less than the length of the head and which has a
caudal fin is crescent shaped with elongated lobes.[3]
Habitat and biology
Variola species occur at depths of 4 to 200 metres (13 to 656 ft) over coral reefs where they are normally observed seen swimming some distance above the reef and they appear to prefer areas with clear water such as islands and offshore reefs. They are largely
piscivorous.[3]
Species
The two known species are:[4][5]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Variola albimarginata Baissac, 1952 | white-edged lyretail | Indo-Pacific: East African coasts between Kenya and Mozambique including Zanzibar and Mafia Island, across the Indian Ocean to the Seychelles, southwestern India and Sri Lanka and into the Pacific Ocean, north as far as the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan, east to Samoa and the Cook Islands and south to Australia. |
 |
Variola louti (Forsskål, 1775) | yellow-edged lyretail | East coast of Africa where it occurs from Durban in South Africa to the Red Sea through the tropical Indian Ocean east into the Pacific Ocean where it occurs as far north as southern Japan, south to Australia and east to the Pitcairn Islands. |
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Variola.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Variola". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Epinephelinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ ISBN 92-5-103125-8.
- ^ "Variola". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 6 June 2006.
- ^ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2006). Species of Variola in FishBase. March 2006 version.