Louvar

Louvar
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Suborder:	Acanthuroidei
Family:	Luvaridae T. N. Gill, 1885
Genus:	Luvaris Rafinesque, 1810
Species:	L. imperialis
Binomial name
Luvaris imperialis Rafinesque, 1810
Synonyms
For genus: Ausonia A. Risso, 1827 Diana A. Risso, 1827 Proctostegus Nardo, 1827 Proluvarus Daniltshenko, 1968 Astrodermus G. Cuvier, 1829 Scrofaria Gistel, 1848 For species: Proctostegus proctostegus Nardo, 1827 Proctostegus prototypus Nardo, 1827 Diana semilunata A. Risso, 1827 Ausonia cuvieri A. Risso, 1827 Astrodermus guttatus G. Cuvier, 1829 Astrodermus coryphaenoides G. Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1833 Coryphaena elegans G. Cuvier, 1833 Diana valenciennesii Cocco & Scuderi, 1835 Astrodermus elegans Bonaparte, 1839 Astroderma plumbeum R. T. Lowe, 1843

The louvar or luvar, Luvaris imperialis, is a species of perciform fish, the only extant species in the genus Luvaris and family Luvaridae. It is closely related to the surgeonfish. The juvenile form has a pair of spines near the base of the tail, like the surgeonfish, though they are lost in the adult.

It is a large, ellipsoidal fish, growing to 200 cm (79 in) long, though most do not exceed 152 cm (60 in). The greatest weight recorded for this species is 150 kg (330 lb).^[1] It is pink in color and possesses a characteristic bulging forehead.

It is found in surface waters of temperate and tropical oceans throughout the world where it can be found at depths of from near the surface to 200 m (660 ft). It feeds on jellyfish, ctenophores, and other soft-bodied planktonic animals. It is hardly ever found in fish markets in the United States, only as bycatch, but is prized as an eating fish.^[2]

Extinct taxa

One extinct species in the genus Luvaris and two extinct genera are only known from fossils dating back to the Paleogene, three extinct genera if one includes Kushlukia of the monotypic Kushlukiidae:

• Luvaris necopinatus (from the Danata formation)
• Avitoluvarus (from the Danata Formation)
• Beerichthys (from the London Clay fauna)
• Kushlukia (sister taxon of Luvaridae)

Timeline

References

1. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). "Luvarus imperialis" in FishBase. December 2013 version.
2. "Louvar: A Fish You May Never Taste.". Larry Levine, Table Talk at Larry's. January 3, 2012.

External links

• caught and stolen in Cabo San Lucas, November 2012.
• "Luvarus imperialis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 April 2006.
• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Luvaridae" in FishBase. February 2006 version.
• "Louvar". Australian Museum Fish Site. Retrieved 31 March 2006.
• "Phylogenetic Revision of the Fish Families Luvaridae and †Kushlukiidae (Acanthuroidei), with a New Genus and Two New Species of Eocene Luvarids" Contains information about Luvaridae and Kushlukiidae (Acanthuroidei).