Centropomidae

Snooks
Common snook, Centropomus undecimalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Percoidei
Family: Centropomidae
Poey, 1868
Genus: Centropomus
Lacépède, 1802
Type species
Centropomus undecimradiatus
Lacepède, 1802

Centropomidae is a family of freshwater and marine fishes in the Perciformes. The sole genus in the family is Centropomus, known commonly as the snooks or robalos.[1] Prior to 2004, three other genera were placed in Centropomidae in subfamily Latinae, which has since been raised to the family level and renamed Latidae because a cladistic analysis showed the old Centropomidae to be paraphyletic, leaving Centropomus as the only remaining genus in this family. These are popular game and food fishes.

Dating from the upper Cretaceous, the centropomids are of typical percoid shape, distinguished by having two-part dorsal fins, a lateral line that extends onto the tail, and, frequently, a concave shape to the head. They range from 35 to 120 cm (14 to 47 in) in length and are found in tropical and subtropical waters.[2]

Species

The currently recognized species in this genus are:[3]

Timeline of genera

Quaternary Neogene Paleogene Holocene Miocene Oligocene Eocene Paleocene Centropomus Quaternary Neogene Paleogene Holocene Miocene Oligocene Eocene Paleocene

References

  1. Centropomus. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
  2. Johnson, G.D. & Gill, A.C. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N., ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 186. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
  3. Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2013). Species of Centropomus in FishBase. February 2013 version.

External links