Chinamanfish
species of fish
The Chinamanfish (Symphorus nematophorus), Chinaman snapper, galloper or thread-finned sea perch, is species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is found in the Western Pacific Ocean.
Taxonomy
The Chinamanfish was first formally described in 1860 by the Dutch ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker as Mesoprion nematophorus with the type locality given as Badjoa on Sulawesi. the German-born British ichthyologist Albert Günther Symphorus in 1872. The genus Symphorus is one of two genera in the subfamily Paradicichthyinae of the snapper family Lutjanidae. The genus name Symphorus was not explained by Günther but it may be a compound of sym, meaning "together with" and phorus meaning "bearer", a possible a reference to its undivided dorsal fin. The specific name nematophorus is also a compound, this time having "nemato" meaning "thread" prefixing phorus, a reference to the projection of at least one the anterior rays of the dorsal fins in to filaments in the younger specimens.
Description
The Chinamanfish has a body which is deep and laterally compressed, with a steep dorsal profile of the head. There is a deep slit between the eyes and the nostrils. The mouth extends as far back as the centre of the eye.
“Chinamanfish” enters the record as species of fish. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Chinamanfish, species and fish can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Chinamanfish” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Chinamanfish, species and fish provides the most credible route into that argument.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15709184. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1860 and 1872.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
- Current terminology
- Classification context
- Finding cited technical literature
Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Chinamanfish”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Chinamanfish primary sources, Chinamanfish archive and Chinamanfish research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Chinamanfish”?
- Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
- Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Chinamanfish” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.