| Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) | |
|---|---|
| Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Suborder: | Percoidei |
| Family: | Latidae |
| Genera | |
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See text. |
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The Latidae are a family of perch-like fishes found in Africa and the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The family, previously classified subfamily Latinae in family Centropomidae, was raised to family status in 2004 after a cladistic analysis showed the original Centropomidae was paraphyletic.
Many species in this family are important food fishes and some have been introduced outside their native ranges to provide fishing stocks. The freshwater Nile perch, a fierce predator, has become infamous, as its introduction into Lake Victoria in the 1960s has wrought devastation on the native fishes of the lake, causing the extinction of many.