Fish - Pompfret

: Silver pomfret

Latin Name: Pampus argenteus
French: Castagnole
Availability: North, Middle-West and North-East coasts of India Maharashtra, Gujarat and Orissa coasts

Pomfret are perciform fishes belonging to the family Bramidae.

They are found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, and the largest species, the Atlantic pomfret, Brama brama, grows up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) long.

Several species are important food fish, especially Brama brama in south Asia. The earlier form of the pomfret's name was pamflet, a word which probably ultimately comes from Portuguese pampo, referring to various fish such as the blue butterfish (Stromateus fiatola).

It is known by various names, such as Vavval in Tamil and Maanji in Tulu.
[edit] Species

There are about twenty species in eight genera:

    * Genus Brama
          o Brama australis Valenciennes, 1837.
          o Atlantic pomfret, Brama brama (Fries, 1837).
          o Caribbean pomfret, Brama caribbea Mead, 1972.
          o Lesser bream, Brama dussumieri Cuvier, 1831.
          o Pacific pomfret, Brama japonica Hilgendorf, 1878.
          o Brama myersi Mead, 1972.
          o Bigtooth pomfret, Brama orcini Cuvier, 1831.
          o Brama pauciradiata Moteki, Fujita & Last, 1995.
    * Genus Collybus
          o Collybus drachme Snyder, 1904.
    * Genus Eumegistus
          o Eumegistus brevorti (Poey, 1860).
          o Eumegistus illustris Jordan & Jordan, 1922.
    * Genus Pteraclis
          o Pacific fanfish, Pteraclis aesticola (Jordan & Snyder, 1901).
          o Pteraclis carolinus Valenciennes, 1833.
            Pteraclis carolinus
          o Spotted fanfish, Pteraclis velifera australiae Whitley, 1935.
    * Genus Pterycombus
          o Atlantic fanfish, Pterycombus brama Fries, 1837.
          o Prickly pomfret, Pterycombus petersii (Hilgendorf, 1878).
    * Genus Taractes
          o Rough pomfret, Taractes asper Lowe, 1843.
          o Pomfret, Taractes rubescens (Jordan & Evermann, 1887).
    * Genus Taractichthys
          o Bigscale pomfret, Taractichthys longipinnis (Lowe, 1843).
          o Sickle pomfret, Taractichthys steindachneri (D