Plectropomus

Saddle largemouth bass ( Plectropomus laevis)

Plectropomus is a genus of groupers ( Epinephelinae ). Plectropomus species occur in the coral reefs of the western and central Indo-Pacific. There are large, primarily fish -eating predators that live less hidden than the species of the genera Epinephelus and cephalopholis. Depending on the type they reach a length of 73 centimeters to 1.25 meters. Your ecological counterpart in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific are the groupers of the genus Mycteroperca.

Plectropomus species are caught and eaten by humans. However, there is always the risk of ciguatera poisoning.

Features

Plectropomus species have an elongated, solid, cylindrical, laterally compressed body barely. The massive head is about one third of the standard length. The mouth is always much longer than the diameter of the eyes. The lower jaw is facing. In the front part of the jaw, a pair of curved " dog teeth " sits in the middle part of the lower jaw are another one to four enlarged teeth. Also vomer and palatine bones bear a dense band of small teeth.

The dorsal fin has twelve to 13 hard and ten to twelve soft rays, the third or fourth hard radiation is usually the longest and significantly longer than the soft rays. There is no extended fin rays. The base of the portion of the dorsal fin hartstrahligen is shorter or the same length as the base of the part of soft-rayed. The anal fin has three hard - and eight soft rays, the first two are small and hard to see in the adult perch. The pectoral fins are small and rounded, with 14 to 18 fin rays, the middle fin rays are longest. The pelvic fins are the same size as the pectoral fins or smaller. The caudal fin is rounded, is currently completing or is concave. She has seven branched fin rays in the upper half and six branched in the lower half. The scales are smooth or ctenoid scales.

Species

After " Fishbase " seven types can be distinguished.

• Darkspine largemouth bass ( Plectropomus areolatus ) ( Rüppell, 1830)
• Saddle largemouth bass ( Plectropomus laevis) ( Lacepede, 1801)
• Leopard largemouth bass ( Plectropomus leopardus ) ( Lacepede, 1802)
• Chin strap largemouth bass ( Plectropomus maculatus ) ( Bloch, 1790)
• Blue stripes largemouth bass ( Plectropomus oligacanthus ) ( Bleeker, 1854)
• Panther largemouth bass ( Plectropomus pessuliferus ) ( Fowler, 1904)
• African largemouth bass ( Plectropomus punctatus ) ( Quoy & Gaimard, 1824)