Stone bream

The stone bream (Neoscorpis lithophilus) is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea chub from the family Kyphosidae, which is native to the Indian Ocean coast of Africa where it can be found along rocky coasts from Mozambique to South Africa. This species grows to a length of 50 centimetres (20 in) SL though most do not exceed 18 centimetres (7.1 in). The greatest recorded weight for this fish is 2.6 kilograms (5.7 lb). This species is commercially important and is also popular as a game fish. This species is the only known member of its genus.[2]

Stone bream
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Kyphosidae
Subfamily: Scorpidinae
Genus: Neoscorpis
J.L.B. Smith, 1931[1]
Species:
N. lithophilus
Binomial name
Neoscorpis lithophilus
(Gilchrist & W. W. Thompson, 1908)
Synonyms[2]
  • Scorpis lithophilus Gilchrist & W. W. Thompson, 1908

Anatomy & Morphology

'The stone bream is a fast growing fish. They can reach maturity around age 10.[3] The max recorded length of the stone-bream is about 50 centimetres although the most common size for this fish is typically 18 centimetres long. An adult stone bream can reach up to 27 cm and can weigh around 2.6 kg.[2]

The stone bream is often blue and silver in color. Each stone bream has anywhere from 6-8 dorsal fins and 20-25 dorsal soft rays. They are also equipped with 3 anal spines and around 20-26 anal soft rays.[2] They have very small mouths. Like other species in the Kyphosid family, Neoscorpis lithophilus has two distinct rows of teeth. The front row contains 34 flat and sharp frontal teeth within their jaws. The second row of smaller sharp teeth protrudes from behind the first row of teeth. Their mouth contains around 3460 taste buds.[4]

Habitat & Distribution

The stone bream can be found mainly in the Western Indian Ocean where it is native in the subtropical regions from 25°S - 35°S, 18°E - 34°E.[3] The stone bream is found along the African coast from Inhaca in Mozambique to False Bay in South Africa,[2] it also occurs along the eastern coast of Madagascar.[5] Stone breams tend to gather in shallow tropical waters as opposed to deep waters.[6] They tend to be desmeral, meaning that they tend to live at the bottom of the sea floor. They feed off of macro-algae found at the bottom of the oceans.[7]

Behavior

Stone breams are mainly herbivores, meaning that their diet is composed of marine plants like macro-algae. Their diet consists of red algae and other sea plants. Because of this, they tend to dwell in shallow, rocky waters, feeding off of many different kinds of plants.[7] Stone breams become sexually mature at fork lengths of 260 millimetres (10 in) for males and 290 millimetres (11 in) for females, when they are 3 to 4 years of age. Spawning takes place in midwinter, July to January, but little is known about the subsequent development of the larvae.[5] A tagging study off South Africa found that a relatively low number of tagged fish are recovered which suggests that this species is somewhat nomadiv. However, it is thought that, as is typical for reef fishes, this species is more likely to be sedentary.[8]

Taxonomy

The stone bream is a member of the family Kyphosidae. Some authorities include the stone bream in a Kyphosidae family which is divided into two different genera: Kyphosus and Neoscorpis. The genus Neoscorpis is monospecific, i.e. it contains only one known species which is Neoscorpis lithophilus.[6] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World retains Neoscorpis in the subfamily Scorpidinae,[9] while other authorities place this species in the Kyphosidae sensu stricto.[10] The stone bream was first formally described in 1908 as Scorpis lithophilus by the Scottish zoologist John Gilchrist and his South African born colleague William Wardlaw Thompson with the type locality given as the Natal coast.[11] In 1931 J.L.B. Smith transferred the stone bream into the monospecific genus Neoscorpis.[1]

Human Interaction

The stone-bream does not contain any known threat to humans.[2] They are fished mainly in the African regions for recreational purposes. Although they are caught recreationally, they are not overfished.[3] Only those with special permits are allowed to catch them. Any sales of the Stone Bream is highly illegal to the public in South Africa.[12]

Conservation Status

The status of the stone bream has not yet been evaluated.[2]

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References
  1. Eschmeyer, W. N.; R. Fricke & R. van der Laan (eds.). "Neoscorpis". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2020). "Neoscorpis lithophilus" in FishBase. December 2020 version.
  3. Mann, Bruce Q.; Fennessy, Sean T.; Govender, Anesh; van der Walt, Bryan A. (2002). "Age and growth and a preliminary stock assessment of stonebream Neoscorpis lithophilus (Pisces : Scorpididae) along the KwaZulu-Natal coast, South Africa". Marine and Freshwater Research. 53 (2): 131. doi:10.1071/mf01140. ISSN 1323-1650.
  4. Fishelson, Lev; Golani, Daniel; Diamant, Ariel (April 2014). "SEM study of the oral cavity of members of the Kyphosidae and Girellidae (Pisces, Teleostei), with remarks on Crenidens (Sparidae), focusing on teeth and taste bud numbers and distribution". Zoology. 117 (2): 122–130. doi:10.1016/j.zool.2013.10.012. ISSN 0944-2006. PMID 24630699.
  5. Lindile Venencia Cele (2016). The genetic connectivity of Diplodus capensis (blacktail) and Neoscorpis lithophilus (stonebream) fish populations in the Southwest Indian Ocean (PDF) (MSc). University of KwaZulu-Natal.
  6. Bray, R. A. (June 1978). "Two new species of Enenterum Linton, 1910 (Digenea) in the marine fish Neoscorpis lithophilus (Kyphosidae) from the south-western Indian Ocean". Journal of Helminthology. 52 (2): 131–139. doi:10.1017/s0022149x00005253. ISSN 0022-149X. PMID 670671.
  7. Knudsen, Steen Wilhelm (2013). "The origins of herbivory in kyphosids (F. Kyphosidae) and related taxa". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. Camilla Flores (2013). "Epinephelus tukula (Smith no 166.66)". In B.Q Mann (ed.). Southern African Marine Linefish Species Profiles. Special Publication. 9. South African Association for Marine Biological Research. ISBN 978-0-620-58185-1.
  9. J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 440–441. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6.
  10. Eschmeyer, W. N.; R. Fricke & R. van der Laan (eds.). "Kyphosidae genera". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  11. Gilchrist, J. D. F. & W. W. Thompson (1908). "Descriptions of fishes from the coast of Natal". Annals of the South African Museum. 6 (2): 145–206.
  12. "Fish detail". WWF SASSI. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
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