Pomfret are perciform fishes belonging to the family Bramidae.

They are found in the Atlantic, Indian

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

, and Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

s, and the largest species, the Atlantic pomfret

Atlantic pomfret

The Atlantic pomfret, Brama brama, is a pomfret of the family Bramidae, found in the Atlantic, Indian, and South Pacific oceans, at depths down to 1,000 m. Its length is between 40 and 100 cm.-References:...

, Brama brama, grows up to 1 metres (3.3 ft) long.

Several species are important food fish, especially Brama brama in south Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

. The earlier form of the pomfret's name was , a word which probably ultimately comes from Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

 pampo, referring to various fish such as the blue butterfish (Stromateus fiatola).

Species

There are about twenty species in eight genera:

• Genus Brama
  • Brama australis Valenciennes
    Achille Valenciennes
    Achille Valenciennes was a French zoologist.Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. Valenciennes' study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasitology...
    
    , 1837.
  • Atlantic pomfret
    Atlantic pomfret
    The Atlantic pomfret, Brama brama, is a pomfret of the family Bramidae, found in the Atlantic, Indian, and South Pacific oceans, at depths down to 1,000 m. Its length is between 40 and 100 cm.-References:...
    
    , Brama brama (Fries, 1837).
  • Caribbean pomfret, Brama caribbea Mead, 1972.
  • Lesser bream, Brama dussumieri Cuvier
    Georges Cuvier
    Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
    
    , 1831.
  • Pacific pomfret, Brama japonica Hilgendorf, 1878.
  • Brama myersi Mead, 1972.
  • Bigtooth pomfret, Brama orcini Cuvier
    Georges Cuvier
    Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
    
    , 1831.
  • Brama pauciradiata Moteki, Fujita & Last, 1995.
• Genus Collybus
  • Collybus drachme Snyder, 1904.
• Genus Eumegistus
  • Eumegistus brevorti (Poey
    Felipe Poey
    -Biography:Poey was born in Havana, the son of French and Spanish parents. He spent several years of his life in Pau then studied law in Madrid. He became a lawyer in Spain but was forced to leave due to his liberal ideas, returning to Cuba in 1823. He began to concentrate on the study of the...
    
    , 1860).
  • Eumegistus illustris Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
    , 1922.
• Genus Pteraclis
  • Pacific fanfish, Pteraclis aesticola (Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & Snyder, 1901).
  • Pteraclis carolinus Valenciennes
    Achille Valenciennes
    Achille Valenciennes was a French zoologist.Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. Valenciennes' study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasitology...
    
    , 1833.
    
  • Spotted fanfish
    Spotted fanfish
    The spotted fanfish, Pteraclis velifera, is a pomfret of the family Bramidae, found in the indo-west Pacific oceans from South Africa to New Zealand, at depths to 500 m. Its length is between 40 and 60 cm.-References:...
    
    , Pteraclis velifera australiae Whitley, 1935.
• Genus Pterycombus
  • Atlantic fanfish, Pterycombus brama Fries, 1837.
  • Prickly pomfret, Pterycombus petersii (Hilgendorf, 1878).
• Genus Taractes
  • Rough pomfret, Taractes asper Lowe, 1843.
  • Pomfret, Taractes rubescens (Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & Evermann, 1887).
• Genus Taractichthys
  • Bigscale pomfret, Taractichthys longipinnis (Lowe, 1843).
  • Sickle pomfret, Taractichthys steindachneri (Döderlein, 1883). Called "mon' chong" in Hawai'ian.
• Genus Xenobrama
  • Xenobrama microlepis Yatsu & Nakamura, 1989.

See also

• Several species of butterfishes in the genus Pampus
  Pampus
  Pampus is an artificial island and fort located in the IJmeer near Amsterdam. It was completed in 1895 as part of the Defence Line of Amsterdam . In 1996 it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Defence Line.-Current Status:In 2007, the fortress was partially restored. It is...
  
  are also known as "pomfrets".
• Some species of Pomfret are also known as Monchong, specifically in Hawaiian cuisine. http://www.hawaii-seafood.org/monchong.html
• List of fish families