Nebris is a small genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. There are two species in the genus, one in the Western Atlantic Ocean and one in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Nebris
Nebris microps
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Acanthuriformes
Family: Sciaenidae
Genus: Nebris
Cuvier, 1830
Type species
Nebris microps
Cuvier, 1830[1]

Taxonomy

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Nebris was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1830 by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier when he described Nbris microps[1] from Surinam.[2] This genus, along with Larimus, has been placed in the subfamily Lariminae by some workers,[3] but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sciaenidae, which it places in the order Acanthuriformes.[4]

Etymology

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Nebris is Greek and means the hide of a fawn, an allusion Cuvier did not explain, describing N. mictops as solver in lfe and uniformly grey-brown when preserved in alcohol.[5]

Species

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There are currently two recognized species in this genus:[6]

Characteristics

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Nebris croakers have elongate bodies which taper towards the caudal fin with a rounded head, the top of which is compressible, with small eyes. The edge of the preoperculum is smooth. The large, upwards pointing mouth opens to the front and there are no barbels on the chin, although there are 4 tiny pores. The dorsal fin has a large incision[7] and is supported by between 8 and 11 spines and 29 and 32 soft rays. The anal fin is supported by 2 spines and 9 or 10 soft rays.[8] They are covered in small cycloid scales including the dorsal and anal fins.[7] N. microps has a maximum published total length of 40 cm (16 in) while for N. occidentalis it is 60 cm (24 in).[6]

Distribution and habitat

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Nebris croakers are found in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans. M. micropsoccurs from Colombia to southeastern Brazil in costal waters and estuaries on sand over mud substrates.[8] M. occidentalis occurs from Guatemala to Peru in the surf zone and in estuaries and coastal lagoons.[9]

Fisheries and conservation

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Nebris croakers are important quarry species for fisheries and are regarded as palatable food fish. They have wide distributions and are both classifies as Least Concern by the IUCN.[10][11]

References

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  1. ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Sciaenidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  2. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Nebris". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  3. ^ Kunio Sasaki (1989). "Phylogeny of the family Sciaenidae, with notes on its Zoogeography (Teleostei, Peciformes)" (PDF). Memoirs of the Faculty of Fishes Hokkaido University. 36 (1–2): 1–137.
  4. ^ J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 497–502. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6.
  5. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (9 March 2023). "Series Eupercaria (Incertae sedis): Families Callanthidae, Centrogenyidae, Dinopercidae, Emmelichthyidae, Malacanthidae, Monodactylidae, Moronidae, Parascorpididae, Sciaenidae and Sillagidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  6. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Nebris". FishBase. February 2023 version.
  7. ^ a b "Genus: Nebris, Croakers". Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  8. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Nebris microps". FishBase. February 2023 version.
  9. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Nebris occidentalis". FishBase. February 2023 version.
  10. ^ Aguilera Socorro, O. & Haimovici, M. (2020). "Nebris microps". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T47148013A82680403. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T47148013A82680403.en. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  11. ^ Chao, L.; Espinosa-Perez, H. & Bearez, P. (2020). "Nebris occidentalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T183252A131031401. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T183252A131031401.en. Retrieved 6 June 2023.