Biology:Scolopsis
Scolopsis is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes commonly referred to as monocle breams. They belong to the family Nemipteridae, the threadfin breams. These fishes are found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.
Taxonomy
Scolopsis was first proposed as a genus in 1814 by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier. It is not clear what species Cuvier was classifying within the genus, although he referred to le curite which he referred to a fish described as having the Telugu name kurite from a figure by Patrick Russell. However, the type species has traditionally been stated as Scolopsis sayanus, described by Jacob Gilliams in 1824 from Pennsylvania. Scolopsis sayanus is a synonym of Aphredoderus sayanus, the freshwater American pirate perch. Some authorities argue that as the type species of this genus is not classified within it then the ICZN should be petitioned to designate a new type species, perhaps S. lineatus,[1] while others state that it should be S. curite, a species revalidated in 2022.[2]
The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies Scolopsis within the family Nemipteridae which it places in the order Spariformes.[3]
Etymology
Scolopsis combines scolo, meaning "thorn", with opsis, meaning "face", thought to be referring to the large backwards pointing spine on the suborbital or the serrated rear margin of the preoperculum having rows of blunt spines along its length.[4]
Species
The currently recognized species in this genus are:[5][6]
| Species | Common name | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Scolopsis affinis
W. K. H. Peters, 1877 |
Peters' monocle bream | 
|
| Scolopsis aurata
(M. Park, 1797) |
Yellowstripe monocle bream | 
|
| Scolopsis bilineata
(Bloch, 1793) |
Two-lined monocle bream | ,_Anilao,_Filipinas,_2023-08-25,_DD_237.jpg)
|
| Scolopsis bimaculata
Rüppell, 1828 |
Thumbprint monocle bream | .jpg)
|
| Scolopsis ciliata
(Lacépède, 1802) |
Saw-jawed monocle bream | _(43493343750).jpg)
|
| Scolopsis curite
Cuvier 1815 |
Whitecheek monocle bream | ,_Nosy_Iranja,_Madagascar,_2025-09-17,_DD_36.jpg)
|
| Scolopsis frenata
(Cuvier, 1830) |
Bridled monocle bream | ,_Mah%C3%A9,_Seychelles,_2025-09-08,_DD_90.jpg)
|
| Scolopsis ghanam
(Forsskål, 1775) |
Arabian monocle bream | ,_mar_Rojo,_Egipto,_2023-04-19,_DD_09.jpg)
|
| Scolopsis japonica
(Bloch 1793) |
Javanese monocle bream | .jpg)
|
| Scolopsis lacrima
Nakamura, Béarez & Motomura, 2019 |
Teary monocle bream | |
| Scolopsis lineata
Quoy & Gaimard, 1824 |
Striped monocle bream | 
|
| Scolopsis margaritifera
(Cuvier, 1830) |
Pearly monocle bream | _(48813142567).jpg)
|
| Scolopsis meridiana
Nakamura, Russell, Moore & Motomura, 2018 |
Sahul monocle bream | |
| Scolopsis monogramma
(Cuvier, 1830) |
Monogrammed monocle bream | 
|
| Scolopsis regina
Whitley 1937[7] |
Crescent monocle bream | 
|
| Scolopsis taeniata
(Cuvier, 1830) |
Black-streaked monocle bream | .jpg)
|
| Scolopsis taenioptera
(Cuvier, 1830) |
Lattice monocle bream | _(41471641921).jpg)
|
| Scolopsis temporalis
(Cuvier, 1830) |
Bald-spot monocle bream | _(44396452385).jpg)
|
| Scolopsis trilineata
Kner, 1868 |
Three-lined monocle bream | 
|
| Scolopsis vosmeri
(Bloch, 1792) |
Vosmaer’s monocle bream | 
|
| Scolopsis xenochrous
Günther, 187 |
Oblique-barred monocle bream | _(41471641511).jpg)
|
Characteristics
Scolopsis monocle breams are small to medium sized fishes with slender to moderately deep bodies that are laterally compressed. They have brush like or small conical shaped teeth arranged in tapering bands in both the upper and lower jaws but there are no canine-like teeth. The pectoral fins are short to moderately long and are supported by 2 simple and between 12 and 17 branched fin rays. In the anal fin the second spine is longer and thicker than the others. The caudal fin may be emarginate or forked and either or both lobes may be pointed, falcate and extended by short filaments. The bodies of these fish are covered in ctenoid scales and the scales on the crown extend forwards to the level of the centre of the eyes or to the rear nostrils or beyond the rear nostrils. The suborbital is naked and has a large retrose spine and a series of smaller spines or serrations on its rear edge. Some species have a small forward pointing spine underneath the eye. The lower limb of the preoperculum may be naked or scaly and its rear margin may be serrated or spiny. The Operculum (fish) is scaly and its upper margin has a small, flat spine enclosed within the skin.[8] The smallest species is S. xenochrous with a maximum published total length of 22 cm (8.7 in) while the largest is S. monogramma with a maximum published total length of 38 cm (15 in).[5]
Distribution and habitat
Scolopsis monocle breams have a wide distribution in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. They are benthic fishes, typically found at deoths arf 60 m (200 ft) or less on reefs or on sandy or muddy substrates.[8]
Biology
Scolopsis monocle breams may be found as individuals or in schools and their prey is mainly small crustaceans taken off the seabed. The juveniles of some species are Batesian mimics of other fish species. Some of the species in this genus are known to be protogynous hermaphrodites.[8]
References
- ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron; van der Laan, Richard, eds. "Genera in the family Nemipteridae". California Academy of Sciences. http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatget.asp?tbl=genus&family=Nemipteridae.
- ↑ Russell, Barry; Bogorodsky, Sergey; Mal, Ahmad; Bineesh, K.K.; Alpermann, Tilman (2022). "The taxonomic identity of the monocle bream Scolopsis vosmeri species complex (Perciformes: Nemipteridae), with comments on molecular phylogenetic relationships within the genus Scolopsis". Zootaxa 5105 (4): 501–538. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5105.4.3. PMID 35391289.
- ↑ Nelson, J.S.; Grande, T.C.; Wilson, M.V.H. (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 502–506. doi:10.1002/9781119174844. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. OCLC 951899884.
- ↑ "Order SPARIFORMES: Families LETHRINIDAE, NEMIPTERIDAE and SPARIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. 17 October 2022. https://etyfish.org/spariformes/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2023). Species of Scolopsis in FishBase. October 2023 version.
- ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron; van der Laan, Richard, eds. "Species in the genus Scolopsis". California Academy of Sciences. http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatget.asp?tbl=species&genus=Scolopsis.
- ↑ Ishihara, Shotaro; Russell, Barry C.; Motomura, Hiroyuki (2024-07-01). "Reinstatement and redescription of the monocle bream Scolopsis regina Whitley 1937 (Perciformes: Nemipteridae)". Ichthyological Research 71 (3): 366–377. doi:10.1007/s10228-023-00940-2. ISSN 1616-3915. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-023-00940-2.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Russell, B.C. (1990). Nemipterid fishes of the world. (Threadfin breams, whiptail breams, monocle breams, dwarf monocle breams, and coral breams). Family Nemipteridae. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of nemipterid species known to date. FAO Species Catalogue. 12. FAO. pp. 96–97. https://www.fao.org/3/t0416e/T0416E13.pdf.
Wikidata ☰ Q2309569 entry
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