neoscorpis lithophilus

ANIMALIA / CHORDATA / ACTINOPTERYGII / PERCIFORMES / KYPHOSIDAE / NEOSCORPIS / LITHOPHILUS

Neoscorpis lithophilus (Gilchrist & Thompson, 1908)

endemic LC

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Morphological description

Stonebream have a slightly compressed body with a small head. The dorsal fin has 6 to 8 short spines folding into a deep groove and 20-23 rays. The anal fin has 3 short spines covered by skin and scales. The front dorsal and anal rays are elongate and from a predominant lobe. The head and body are silvery grey and the fins are dark. The read edge of the operculum is black (Heemstra and Heemstra 2004).

Global distribution

Endemic, subtropical species found between southern MOZ and False Bay (Fischer and Bianchi 1984, Smith and Heemstra 1991, Heemstra and Heemstra 2004), also found on the southeast coast of Madagascar (B. Mann, ORI, pers. obs.).

SA distribution

WC, EC, KZN, MOZ Along east coast from southern MOZ (Inhaca Island) to Cape Agulhas (Joubert and Hanekom 1980, van der Elst 1993, Mann et al. 2002).

Movement

Tagging data suggest that stonebream may be quite nomadic (ORI Tagging Project, unpubl. data), but stonebream are believed to be more likely to be fairly resident, typical of other inshore reef fish species (B. Mann, ORI, pers. obs.).

Trophic strategy

Adult diet includes mainly red and green algae also copepods and other small invertebrates associated with the algae (Joubert and Hanekom 1980, van der Elst 1993). Juveniles diet is similar to adults, with no apparent change in diet with increase in size (Joubert and Hankom 1980).

Reproduction

Stone bream are gonochorists (Mann et al. 2002b) with an extending spawning season from June to January (Joubert 1981a). They spawn in shallow coastal waters off southern Mozambique and along the northern KZN coast (Joubert 1981a, van der Elst 1993, Mann et al. 2002b), and possibly further south (S. Dunlop, ORI, pers. obs.). Age at 50% maturity: Combined sexes: 3-4 years; KZN; 1994-99 (Mann et al. 2002b). Length at 50% maturity: Males: 262mm FL; Females: 292mm FL; KZN; 1975-77; Size at first maturity (Joubert 1981a).

Biome

Inshore

Occurrence records map

This map contains point-based occurrences at different locations

iNaturalist: Data partners records: DNA:

Residence status

Occurrence in African countries and South African provinces. Residence status indicates if a taxon is indigenous, endemic, or alien in a specific region. This data is based on specimen records and literature.

FSA

BOT

NAM

ESW

LES

KZN

Absent

Indigenous

Endemic

Naturalised

Invasive

Christiaan Viljoen

Names and Sources

Common Name	Language
Stinker	En
Stonebream	En
Stinkvis	Af

Classification

KINGDOM Animalia

PHYLUM Chordata

CLASS Actinopterygii

ORDER Perciformes

FAMILY Kyphosidae

GENUS Neoscorpis

SPECIES lithophilus

No results found for Neoscorpis lithophilus (Gilchrist & Thompson, 1908)

Uses

One of the top six most important species caught in the shore fishery along the KZN and TKI coasts (Joubert 1981b, Mann et al. 1997a, Mann et al. 2003, Dunlop and Mann 2012), becomes progressively less abundant further south (Brouwer et al. 1997). Larger specimens occasionally taken by spearfishermen (Mann et al. 1997b).

10 results for Neoscorpis lithophilus (Gilchrist & Thompson, 1908)

Records
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Year

2016 (1)

2021 (1)

2022 (8)

Province

eastern cape (1)

kwazulu-natal (5)

kwazulu-natal, south africa (3)

western cape, south africa (1)