Distribution:
Indian and Pacific oceans and Africa, in brackish and freshwater.
Habitat:
Coastal waters and estuaries.
Remarks:
Species in this family have concave snout profiles and rounded caudal fins, and there are one or more stout, flat spines at the angle of the preopercle. They are important as foodfishes and can reach a maximum length of 2 m.
The family comprises two genera Lates, seven of eight species in freshwater (including the large Nile Perch), and Psammoperca, one species, found in coastal Indo-Pacific waters. This family also includes the fossil genus Eolates occuring in the Eocene and Oligocene.
References:
Larson, pp. 2429-2432, in: Carpenter & Niem 1999;
Nelson 2006