Parascolopsis was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1901 by the Belgian-born British ichthyologist George Albert Boulenger when he described its only species , Parascolopsis townsendi[1] from the Sea of Oman.[2] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies Parascolopsis within the family Nemipteridae which it places in the orderSpariformes.[3]
Parascolopsis is a combination of para, which means "near" and Scolopsis, Boulenger wrote that this genus "agrees in every respect", apart from the absence of a surborbital spine.[4]
Parascolopsis differs from the other genera in the family Nemipteridae by the suborbital spine being either poorly developed or absent and by having between 4 and 6 transverse scale rows on the preoperculum. Other characteristics include the second anal fin spine typically being longer and more robust than the spines either side of it. The caudal fin is emarginate. The scales on the crown extend to the middle of the eyes or to rear nostrils. The suborbital region may be scaled or naked and its rear edge may be smooth, toothed or finely serrated. The operculum is scaly with a small, flat, enclosed spine in its upper margin.[7] These are medium-sized fishes with the smallest species, P. tosensis having a maximum published standard lengths of 10 cm (3.9 in), while the largest, P. eriomma, has a maximum published total length of 35 cm (14 in).[5]
Parascolopsis monocle breams are found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans occurring on muddy or sandy substrates, typically in offshore waters of the continental shelf, as deep as around 400 m (1,300 ft).[7]
^Miyamoto, Kei; McMahan, Caleb; Kaneko, Atsushi (2020). "Parascolopsis akatamae, a new species of dwarf monocle bream (Perciformes: Nemipteridae) from the Indo-West Pacific, with redescription of closely related species P. eriomma". Zootaxa. 4881: 91–103. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4881.1.6.
