Variola (fish)

Genus of fishes

Variola
Variola louti
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Serranidae
Subfamily: Epinephelinae
Genus: Variola
Swainson, 1839
Type species
Variola longipinna
Swainson, 1839[1]
Synonyms[2]

Pseudoserranus Klunzinger, 1870

Variola, the lyretails, is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, groupers from the subfamily Epinephelinae, part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. They are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific and their distribution extends from the Red Sea to South Africa across the Indian Ocean and east to the islands of the central Pacific.[3]

Characteristics

The lyretails have an oblong shaped body which has a depth that is less than the length of the head and which has a standard length that is 2.8 to 3.2 times its depth. They have a slightly convex dorsal profile of the head and a snout which is longer than the diameter of the eye. Both species have a rounded preopercle with a finely serrated margin and a fleshy lower margin. There are three flat spines on the gill cover which has a straight upper margin. Both the upper and lower jaws have a pair of large canine teeth at the front and there are also 1 to 3 large canines in the middle of the lower jaw, and there are teeth on the roof of the mouth as well. The dorsal fin contains 9 spines and 13 to 15 soft rays and it has its origin above the posterior end of the gill cover. The membranes between the spines of the dorsal fin are not or are only slightly incised. The anal fin has 3 separated spines and 8 soft rays. The caudal fin is crescent shaped with elongated lobes.[3]

Habitat and biology

Variola species occur at depths of 4 to 200 metres (13 to 656 ft) over coral reefs where they are normally observed seen swimming some distance above the reef and they appear to prefer areas with clear water such as islands and offshore reefs. They are largely piscivorous.[3]

Species

The two known species are:[4][5]

Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
Variola albimarginata Baissac, 1952 white-edged lyretail Indo-Pacific: East African coasts between Kenya and Mozambique including Zanzibar and Mafia Island, across the Indian Ocean to the Seychelles, southwestern India and Sri Lanka and into the Pacific Ocean, north as far as the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan, east to Samoa and the Cook Islands and south to Australia.
Variola louti (Forsskål, 1775) yellow-edged lyretail East coast of Africa where it occurs from Durban in South Africa to the Red Sea through the tropical Indian Ocean east into the Pacific Ocean where it occurs as far north as southern Japan, south to Australia and east to the Pitcairn Islands.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Variola.
  1. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Variola". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  2. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Epinephelinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Heemstra, P.C. & J.E. Randall (1993). FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 16. Groupers of the world (family Serranidae, subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date (PDF). FAO Fish. Synopsis. Vol. 125. FAO, Rome. p. 301-302. ISBN 92-5-103125-8.
  4. ^ "Variola". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 6 June 2006.
  5. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Variola". FishBase. March 2006 version.
  • v
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Extant Epinephelinae species (Groupers)
Alphestes
Anyperodon
slender grouper (A. leucogrammicus)
AethalopercaCephalopholis
  • Rusty hind (C. aitha)
  • Blue-Spotted Grouper (C. argus)
  • Golden hind (C. aurantia)
  • Chocolate hind (C. boenak)
  • Graysby (C. cruentata)
  • Bluespotted hind (C. cyanostigma)
  • Bluelined hind (C. formosa)
  • Coney (C. fulva)
  • Yellowfin hind (C. hemistiktos)
  • Neptune grouper (C. igarashiensis)
  • Leopard grouper (C. leopardus)
  • Freckled hind (C. microprion)
  • Vermillion seabass (C. miniata)
  • Niger hind (C. nigri)
  • Vermilion hind (C. oligosticta)
  • Pacific Graysby (C. panamensis)
  • (C. polleni)
  • Cephalopholis polyspila
  • Six-blotch hind (C. sexmaculata)
  • Tomato hind (C. sonnerati)
  • Strawberry grouper (C. spiloparaea)
  • Blue Spotted Sea Bass | (C. taeniops)
  • Darkfin hind (C. urodeta)
Chromileptes
Humpback grouper (C. altivelis)
Dermatolepis
  • marbled grouper (D. inermis)
  • smooth grouper (D. striolata)
Epinephelus
  • Areolate grouper (E. areolatus)
  • Atlantic goliath grouper (E. itajara)
  • Banded grouper (E. amblycephalus)
  • Barred-chest grouper (E. faveatus)
  • Black-dotted grouper (E. stictus)
  • Blacksaddle grouper (E. howlandi)
  • Blacktip grouper (E. fasciatus)
  • Blue and yellow grouper (E. flavocaeruleus)
  • Bridled grouper (E. heniochus)
  • Brown-marbled grouper (E. fuscoguttatus)
  • Brownspotted grouper (E. chlorostigma)
  • Camouflage grouper (E. polyphekadion)
  • Catface grouper (E. andersoni)
  • Clipperton grouper (E. clippertonensis)
  • Cloudy grouper (E. erythrurus)
  • Comet grouper (E. morrhua)
  • Coral grouper (E. corallicola)
  • Dogtooth grouper (E. caninus)
  • Dot-dash grouper (E. poecilonotus)
  • Dotted grouper (E. epistictus)
  • Dungat grouper (E. goreensis)
  • Dusky grouper (E. marginatus)
  • Duskytail grouper (E. bleekeri)
  • Epaulet grouper (E. stoliczkae)
  • Foursaddle grouper (E. spilotoceps)
  • Giant grouper (E. lanceolatus)
  • Goldblotch grouper (E. costae)
  • Greasy grouper (E. tauvina)
  • Halfmoon grouper (E. rivulatus)
  • Highfin grouper (E. maculatus)
  • Honeycomb grouper (E. merra)
  • Hong Kong grouper (E. akaara)
  • Longfin grouper (E. quoyanus)
  • Longspine grouper (E. longispinis)
  • Longtooth grouper (E. bruneus)
  • Malabar grouper (E. malabaricus)
  • Maori grouper (E. undulatostriatus)
  • Marquesan grouper (E. irroratus)
  • Moustache grouper (E. chabaudi)
  • Multispotted grouper (E. gabriellae)
  • Mystery grouper (E. lebretonianus)
  • Nassau grouper (E. striatus)
  • Netfin grouper (E. miliaris)
  • Oblique-banded grouper (E. radiatus)
  • Olive grouper (E. cifuentesi)
  • One-blotch grouper (E. melanostigma)
  • Orange-spotted grouper (E. coioides)
  • Pacific Goliath grouper (E. quinquefasciatus)
  • Palemargin grouper (E. bontoides)
  • Plump grouper (E. trophis)
  • Potato grouper (E. tukula)
  • Red grouper (E. morio)
  • Red hind (E. guttatus)
  • Red-tipped grouper (E. retouti)
  • Reticulate grouper (E. tuamotuensis)
  • Rock grouper (E. fasciatomaculosus)
  • Rock hind (E. adscensionis)
  • Saddletail grouper (E. daemelii)
  • Seamount grouper (E. suborbitalis)
  • Sixbar grouper (E. sexfasciatus)
  • Smallscaled grouper (E. polylepis)
  • Snubnose grouper (E. macrospilos)
  • Somali grouper (E. indistinctus)
  • Speckled blue grouper (E. cyanopodus)
  • Speckled grouper (E. magniscuttis)
  • Speckled hind (E. drummondhayi)
  • Spinycheek grouper (E. diacanthus)
  • Spotted grouper (E. analogus)
  • Starry grouper (E. labriformis)
  • Starspotted grouper (E. hexagonatus)
  • Striped grouper (E. latifasciatus)
  • Striped-fin grouper (E. posteli)
  • Summan grouper (E. summana)
  • Surge grouper (E. socialis)
  • Threespot grouper (E. trimaculatus)
  • Tonga grouper (E. chlorocephalus)
  • Twinspot grouper (E. bilobatus)
  • Wavy-lined grouper (E. undulosus)
  • White grouper (E. aeneus)
  • White-blotched grouper (E. multinotatus)
  • White-dotted grouper (E. polystigma)
  • White-edged grouper (E. albomarginatus)
  • Whitespotted grouper (E. coeruleopunctatus)
  • White-streaked grouper (E. ongus)
  • Yellow grouper (E. awoara)
  • Yellowspotted grouper (E. timorensis)
GonioplectrusGracilaHyporthodus
Mycteroperca
  • Black grouper (M. bonaci)
  • Venezuelan grouper (M. cidi)
  • Gulf grouper (M. jordani)
  • Gag grouper (M. microlepis)
  • Sailfin grouper (M. olfax)
  • Sawtail grouper (M. prionura)
  • Leopard grouper (M. rosacea)
  • Mottled grouper (M. rubra)
  • Tiger grouper (M. tigris)
  • Broomtail grouper (M. xenarcha)
  • Yellowfin grouper (M. venenosa)
  • Scamp grouper (M. phenax)
  • Yellowmouth grouper (M. interstitialis)
Paranthias
  • Pacific creole-fish (P. colonus)
  • Creole-fish (P. furcifer )
PlectropomusSaloptiaTrisoVariola
Taxon identifiers
Variola