Branchiostegus
Branchiostegus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, tilefishes, belonging to the family Malacanthidae. They are found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean through the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific Ocean. Here they create burrows in soft substrates in the comparatively deep waters of the continental shelf and slope.
Characteristics
Branchiostegus tilefishes have a rectangular body shape with a square profile to the head. They have a raised seam situated to the anterior of the dorsal fin, this can be reduced but it is always there. They have a body which is around four times as long as it is deep. There are fine serrations on the preopercular upper arm while its lower arm has very few or no serrations and there is no spine at its angle. The operculum has a single flexible, blunt spine. The mouth is slightly angled and extend to the front of the eye. The dorsal and anal fins are long and unbroken. The dorsal fin has 6 to 8 spines, typically 7 and 14 to 16, normally 15, soft rays. The anal fin contains 2 spines and 11 to 13, typically 12, soft rays. The caudal fin is rounded,truncate, or double emarginate and sometimes has elongated tips. They have pelagic larvae which have many spines on their heads and serrated ridges.
Species
There are currently 19 recognized species in this genus:Branchiostegus albus Dooley, 1978Branchiostegus argentatus Branchiostegus auratus Branchiostegus australiensis Dooley & Kailola, 1988 Branchiostegus biendong Hiramatsu, Vinh, Endo, 2019Branchiostegus doliatus Branchiostegus gloerfelti Dooley & Kailola, 1988Branchiostegus hedlandensis Dooley & Kailola, 1988 Branchiostegus ilocanus Herre, 1928Branchiostegus japonicus Branchiostegus okinawensis Hiramatsu & Yoshino, 2012Branchiostegus paxtoni Dooley & Kailola, 1988 Branchiostegus saitoi Dooley & Iwatsuki, 2012Branchiostegus sanae Huang, Chen, Ke & Zhang, 2025 Branchiostegus sawakinensis Amirthalingam, 1969 Branchiostegus semifasciatus Branchiostegus serratus Dooley & Paxton, 1975 Branchiostegus vittatus Herre, 1926Branchiostegus wardi Whitley, 1932A single apparent fossil species, †Branchiostegus mesogeus Arambourg, 1927 is known from the latest Miocene of Algeria. However, this specimen is incomplete and poorly preserved, so it remains uncertain whether the specimen actually belongs to this genus.