Boops

Boops /ˈboʊ.ɒps/ is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sparidae, the seabreams and porgies. There are two species in this genus, one in the Western Atlantic and Mediterranean, and the other in the Western Indian Ocean.

## Contents

* 1 Taxonomy
* 2 Etymology
* 3 Species
* 4 Characteristics
* 5 Distribution and habitat
* 6 Fisheries
* 7 References

## Taxonomy

Boops was first proposed as a genus in 1814 by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier with Sparus boops being its type species by "absolute tautonymy".[1] This taxon is placed in the family Sparidae within the order Spariformes by the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.[2] Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Boopsinae,[3] but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.[2]

## Etymology

Boops derives from the Ancient Greek βό (bo) meaning 'ox' and ὤψ (ops) meaning 'eye', referring to its large eyes.[4]

## Species

Boops contains 2 species:[5]

* Boops boops (Linnaeus, 1758) (Bogue)
* Boops lineatus (Boulenger, 1892) (Striped boga)

The fossil species †Boops roulei Arambourg, 1927 (=†Boops gortanii D'Erasmo, 1930) is known from the Late Miocene of Italy and Algeria. This species was likely driven to extinction by ecological shifts from the Messinian salinity crisis.[6] In addition, an indeterminate fossil Boops potentially allied with B. roulei is known from Middle Miocene-aged Paratethyan sediments from Austria.[7]

## Characteristics

Boops is characterised by having a torpedo-shaped, elongated body with large eyes, the diameter of the eyes being longer than the snout. The pectoral fins are short, being three-quarters the length of the head and the caudal fin has a deep fork. There is a single row of teeth in the jaws, these are incisor-like. There are dark stripes along the otherwise silvery body.[8] The largest of the 2 species is the bogue, which has a maximum published total length of 40 cm (16 in) while the striped boga has a maximum published total length of 25 cm (9.8 in).[5]

## Distribution and habitat

Boops species are parapatric. The bogue is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Norway south to Angola and in the Mediterranean and Black Seas.[9] The silvery boga is found in the western Indian Ocean along the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula from central Yemen to the Gulf of Oman.[10] They are gregarious fishes that form schools in shallow coastal waters.[9]

## Fisheries

Boops are fished for, although the smaller silvery boga is probably only taken by subsistence fishers. The bogue is pursued commercially and used as a food fish, bait in tuna fisheries and to make fish meal.[11]

## References

1. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron; van der Laan, Richard, eds. "Genera in the family Sparidae". California Academy of Sciences. http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatget.asp?tbl=genus&family=Sparidae.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Nelson, J.S.; Grande, T.C.; Wilson, M.V.H. (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 502–506. doi:10.1002/9781119174844. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. OCLC 951899884.
3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Parenti`
4. ↑ "Order SPARIFORMES: Families LETHRINIDAE, NEMIPTERIDAE and SPARIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. 22 December 2022. https://etyfish.org/spariformes/.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2023). Species of Boops in FishBase. October 2023 version.
6. ↑ Carnevale, Giorgio (2002-12-13). "Boops roulei Arambourg (Teleostei, Percoidei) in the Messinian of Central Italy, with comments on systematics, paleoecology and zoogeography" (in en). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Monatshefte: 725–736. doi:10.1127/njgpm/2002/2002/725. https://www.schweizerbart.de//papers/njgpm/detail/2002/92041/Boops_roulei_Arambourg_Teleostei_Percoidei_in_the_?af=crossref.
7. ↑ Carnevale, Giorgio; Harzhauser, M. (2013), The Badenian Fish Fauna of St. Margarethen, Eisenstadt-Sopron Basin, Burgenland, Central Paratethys: Stratigraphy, Paleoecology and Paleobiogeography, TUR, ISBN 978-975-561-438-0, https://iris.unito.it/handle/2318/138505, retrieved 2025-08-28
8. ↑ Yukio Iwatsuki; Phillip C Heemstra (2022). "Family Sparidae". Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean. 3. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. pp. 284–315. ISBN 978-1-990951-32-9. https://saiab.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1._wiof_volume_3_text.pdf.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2023). "Boops boops" in FishBase. October 2023 version.
10. ↑ Iwatsuki, Y.; Russell, B.; Pollard, D. et al. (2014). "Boops lineatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T170171A1287031.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/170171/1287031. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
11. ↑ Pollard, D.; Carpenter, K.E.; Russell, B. (2014). "Boops boops". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T170251A1301787.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/170251/1301787. Retrieved 31 December 2023.

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