Panga
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the panga fish. See machete for information about the African cutting tool. See skiff for information about the small watercraft used by commercial fishermen in Central America
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| Pterogymnus laniarius (Valenciennes, 1830) |
Panga is the common South African name for Pterogymnus laniarius, a small ocean-dwelling fish, native to the south-east Atlantic Ocean and south-west Indian Ocean. They are cold-blooded with white flesh. Their scales are generally pink in color with whitish underbelly and blue-green stripes running laterally along its sides.
Over the course of its life, a panga will undergo periodic sex-changes with as much as 30% of the population being hermaphroditic at a time. Despite the presence of both sex organs, it is thought unlikely that both are simultaneously active. Panga are slow to reach sexual maturity, with a minimum population doubling time of 4.5-14 years.
In other countries the name panga may refer to a different species. In Indonesia and Spain, panga refers to Megalaspis cordyla, in Poland it refers to Pangasius hypophthalmus, and in Kenya it refers to Trichiurus lepturus.
[edit] References
- Pterogymnus laniarius (TSN 647974). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 19 March 2006.
- "Pterogymnus laniarius". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. November 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.
