Pagrus

Pagrus was first proposed as a genus in 1816 by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier with Sparus pagrus as its type species by absolute tautonymy, Sparus pagrus was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae with its type locality given as the Mediterranean Sea of southern Europe.{{Cof genus|genus=Pagrus|access-date=7 February 2024}} This genus is placed in the family Sparidae within the order Spariformes by the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.{{cite book |author1=Nelson, J.S. |author1-link=Joseph S. Nelson |author2=Grande, T.C. |author3=Wilson, M.V.H. |year=2016 |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |place=Hoboken, NJ |pages=502–506 |isbn=978-1-118-34233-6 |lccn=2015037522 |oclc=951899884 |ol=25909650M |doi=10.1002/9781119174844}} Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Sparinae,{{cite journal |author= Parenti, P. |year=2019 |title=An annotated checklist of the fishes of the family Sparidae |journal=FishTaxa |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=47–98 |url= https://fishtaxa.com/menuscript/index.php/ft/article/view/49/52}} but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.

Pagrus contains at least six described species:{{FishBase genus|genus=Pagrus|month=October|year=2023}}

• Pagrus africanus (Akazaki, 1962) (Southern common seabream)
• Pagrus auratus (Forster, 1801) (Silver seabream or Australasian snapper)
• Pagrus auriga (Valenciennes, 1843) (Redbanded seabream )
• Pagrus caeruleostictus (Valenciennes, 1830) (Bluespotted seabream)
• Pagrus major (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) (Red seabream )
• Pagrus pagrus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Common seabream or red porgy)

Catalog of Fishes recognises five species within the genus as it classifies P. auratus in the monospecific genus Chrysophrys Quoy & Gaimard, 1824. This is not followed by FishBase but is accepted by other authorities.{{cite web |author=Gomon, M.F. |author2=Bray, D.J. |name-list-style=& |year=2022 |title=Chrysophrys |work=Fishes of Australia |access-date=7 February 2024|url=https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/genus/1069 |publisher=Museums Victoria}}

Pagrus is tautonymous from Sparus pagrus, the name pagrus comes from a Greek word for seabreams that dates at least to the time of Aristotle.{{cite web |url=https://etyfish.org/acanthuriformes6/ |title=Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 6): Families GERREIDAE, LETHRINIDAE, NEMIPTERIDAE and SPARIDAE |date=12 January 2024 |access-date=7 February 2024 |author=Christopher Scharpf |work=The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database |publisher=Christopher Scharpf}}

Pagrus seabreams are characterised by having oblong, compressed bodies with deep heads which have rounded dorsal profiles. The rear nostril is oblong, the front nostril is a slit. The moderately protrusible mouth is small, horizontal and the end of the maxilla is overlapped by the suborbital bone. There are two rows of teeth in the jaws, the front row is made up of between 6 and 6 sharp, canine-like teeth with molar-like teeth to the rear of them. The margin of the preoperculum is smooth. The dorsal fin is low and is supported by 12 spines while the anal fin is short-based and is supported by 3 short spines and 8 soft rays> The long pectoral fins are clearly longer than the pelvic fins. The cheeks and gill covers are scaled but there are no scales on the snout or between the eyes and the mouth. There are between 48 and 60 scales in the lateral line and there no large blotch at its origin.{{cite web |url=https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/taxon/3759 |title=Genus: Pagrus, Porgies, Red Porgy |access-date=8 February 2024 |work=Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system |publisher=Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute}}{{cite book |author=Kent E. Carpenter |author-link=Kent E. Carpenter |chapter=Sparidae |pages=2567–2620 |editor1=Carpenter, K.E. |editor2=De Angelis, N.|name-list-style=and |year=2016 |title=The living marine resources of the Eastern Central Atlantic Volume 2 Bony fishes part 2 (Perciformes to Tetradontiformes) and Sea turtles |series=FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes |location=Rome |publisher=FAO |url=https://www.fao.org/3/i5715e/i5715e.pdf |isbn=978-92-5-109267-5}} The largest species in the genus is P. auratus with a maximum published total length of {{cvt|130|cm}}, while the smallest is P. africanus with a maximum published total length of {{cvt|75|cm}}.

Pagrus seabreams are found in the Atlantic Ocean, where P. pagrus occurs on both sides of the Ocean and in the Mediterranean, while the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea have two other native species, P. auriga and P. caeruleostictus. P. africanus is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off West Africa. The remaining two species are found in the Western Pacific Ocean. However, P. major has been introduced into the Mediterranean probably as a result of escapes from aquaculture.{{cite journal |author=Thodoros E. Kampouris |author2=Panagiotis S. Economidis |name-list-style=and |author3=Ioannis E. Batjakas |year=2020 |title=First record of Pagrus major (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) (Perciformes: Sparidae) from east Mediterranean Sea and the northernmost Mediterranean record of Por's goatfish Upeneus pori Ben-Tuvia & Golani, 1989 (Perciformes: Mullidae) from Thermaikos Gulf, NorthWest Aegean Sea, Greece |journal=Cahiers de Biologie Marine |volume=61 |pages=253–258 |doi=10.21411/CBM.A.F4BCFF17}} These fishes prefer hard bottoms but may be found in estuaries.

Pagrus seabreams are carnivores, using their crushingh molars to feed on molluscs and crustaceans but they have also been found to eat softer bodied prey such as cephalopods and fishes. P. pagrus and P. caeruleostictus are at least partial protogynous hermaphrodites.{{cite journal |author=Rania F. Ismail |author2=Mona M. Mourad |author3= Mahmoud M.S. Farrag |title=Gonadal development and hermaphroditism of bluespotted seabream, Pagrus caeruleostictus (Valenciennes, 1830) from the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt |journal=The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research |volume=44 |issue=2 |year=2018 |pages=163–171 |issn=1687-4285 |doi=10.1016/j.ejar.2018.05.003|doi-access=free }}{{cite report |author=Charles S. Manooch III |name-list-style=and |author2=William W. Hassler |year=1978 |title=Synopsis of Biological Data on the Red Porgy, Pagrus pagrus (Linnaeus) |publisher=U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service |series=NOAA Technical Report NMFS Circular |issue=412 |url=https://www.fao.org/3/ap922e/ap922e.pdf}}

==Fisheries==

Pagrus seabreams are valued as food fishes, as well as being used to produce fish meal and fish oil, and are targeted by fisheries wherever they occur. They are also used in aquaculture in both Japan{{cite journal |author=Kato, K. |title=Breeding studies on red sea bream Pagrus major: mass selection to genome editing |journal=Fisheries Science |volume=89 |pages=103–119 |year=2023 |issue=2 |doi=10.1007/s12562-022-01668-0|doi-access=free |bibcode=2023FisSc..89..103K }} and the Mediterranean.

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Category:Marine fish genera

Category:Eocene genus first appearances

Category:Taxa named by Georges Cuvier

Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot

Category:Spariform fish genera