Genus: Pteraclis, Fanfish Pomfret, Fanfishes

PTERACLIS

FANFISHES

Head and body compressed, an elongate oval tapering to slender tail base; forehead profile convex; snout short, bluntly rounded; eyes large; between eyes rounded; rear nostril a slit; mouth at front, strongly oblique, the rear of the top jaw wide, exposed and covered with scales; lower edges of bottom jawbone touching or nearly touching along midline under head; the single dorsal and anal fins have long bases, similar shapes and sizes; dorsal fin origin on snout, not preceded by scales across the dorsal profile; dorsal and anal fins broadly expanded and sail-like, flexible, completely depressible, when depressed lie in a sheath formed by elongate scales inserted along base of fin, that sheath extending forward onto snout; one of front rays of dorsal and anal fins thickened; tail base without transverse grooves; tail fin forked, stiff; scales with small spines; snout, lower jaw and fins except tail base, scaleless; scales at center of end of tail base distinctly larger than those on center of tail fin base.

A genus with two species, one Atlantic, the other Pacific, with waifs to the SW Atlantic.