| Beachsalmon | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Leptobramidae |
| Genus: | Leptobrama |
| Species: | L. muelleri |
| Binomial name | |
| Leptobrama muelleri (Steindachner, 1878) |
|
The beachsalmon (Leptobrama muelleri) is a species of perciform, primarily coastal marine or brackish fish and the sole representative of its family, Leptobramidae. Found in tropical coastal waters of the Western Pacific off southern New Guinea, Queensland, and Western Australia. the beachsalmon is a popular sport fish in Australia where it is sometimes called flat salmon, silver salmon, slender bream, or skippy (a name also applied to several species of trevally).
Historically, Leptobrama was placed in the sweeper family Pempheridae: while the two are similar, they in fact have no more characteristics in common than "any other two arbitrarily chosen acanthopterygian forms might be expected to have,"[1] therefore justifying the placement of Leptobrama in its own family. The genus name Leptobrama may be translated from the Greek leptos, meaning "thin" and the Old French bresme, meaning "breme" or "freshwater fish," an allusion to its tendency to enter the mouths of rivers and estuaries.
Beachsalmon are characterized by a deep, laterally compressed and fusiform body. The dorsal fin is also reduced and begins behind the middle of the body; it contains four spines and 16-18 soft rays. The anal fin originates at about the middle of the body and contains three spines and 26-30 soft rays. The maxillae extend well beyond the small eyes; the preorbital is serrate, and the adipose lid is present. [2]
The lateral line is described as having long, narrow tubes and from 75-77 scales. There are approximately 10 short gill rakers. The maximum recorded length for the species is 37.5 cm (standard length). [3]