64-493: See text Sparidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes , the seabreams and porgies , although they were traditionally classified in the order Perciformes . They are found in shallow temperate and tropical waters around the world and are demersal carnivores. Sparidae was first proposed as a family in 1818 by the French polymath and naturalist Constantine Samuel Rafinesque . Traditionally
128-447: A consensus over time. The naming of families is codified by various international bodies using the following suffixes: Name changes at the family level are regulated by the codes of nomenclature. For botanical families, some traditional names like Palmae ( Arecaceae ), Cruciferae ( Brassicaceae ), and Leguminosae ( Fabaceae ) are conserved alongside their standardized -aceae forms due to their historical significance and widespread use in
192-446: A family, yet in the realm of plants, these classifications often rely on both the vegetative and reproductive characteristics of plant species. Taxonomists frequently hold varying perspectives on these descriptions, leading to a lack of widespread consensus within the scientific community for extended periods. The continual publication of new data and diverse opinions plays a crucial role in facilitating adjustments and ultimately reaching
256-463: A flabby fish is the cusk-eel Acanthonus armatus , a predator with a huge head and a body that is 90 per cent water. This fish has the largest ears ( otoliths ) and the smallest brain in relation to its body size of all known vertebrates. Deepwater benthopelagic fish are robust, muscular swimmers that actively cruise the bottom searching for prey. They often live around features, such as seamounts , which have strong currents. Commercial examples are
320-471: A hundred taxonomic publications. Such descriptions typically result from either the discovery of organisms with unique combinations of characters that do not fit existing families, or from phylogenetic analyses that reveal the need for reclassification. The taxonomic term familia was first used by French botanist Pierre Magnol in his Prodromus historiae generalis plantarum, in quo familiae plantarum per tabulas disponuntur (1689) where he called
384-480: A maximum published total length of 200 cm (79 in), while the smallest species is the cherry seabream ( Polysteganus cerasinus ). Sparidae breams are found in tropical and temperate coastal waters around the world. They are demersal fishes on the continental shelf and slope . A few species are found in brackish water , and a few of these will enter fresh water. Sparidae breams are predatory with most feeding on benthic invertebrates. Smaller species in
448-515: A meter and weights up to 100 kg are not uncommon. They swallow prey rather than biting pieces off it. They do not have many teeth on the edges of their jaws, but they have heavy crushing tooth plates inside the pharynx . They lie in wait, rather than chasing in open water. They are found in areas of hard or consolidated substrate, and use structural features such as ledges, rocks, and coral reefs (as well as artificial reefs like wrecks and sunken barges) as their habitat. Their mouth and gills form
512-667: A monophyletic family if Spicara , a genus formerly in the family Centracanthidae, was included. This meant that Spicara and Centracanthus were both now classified within Sparidae, so that Centracanthidae is a junior synonym of Sparidae. Sparidae takes its name from its type genus , Sparus , that name coming from the Greek for its only species the gilt-head bream ( Sparus aurata ). The family Sparidae contains about 155 species in 38 genera: Fossil genera include: Sparidae breams have oblong, moderately deep and compressed bodies. The head
576-577: A powerful sucking system that sucks their prey in from a distance. They also use their mouth to dig into sand to form their shelters under big rocks, jetting it out through their gills. Their gill muscles are so powerful that it is nearly impossible to pull them out of their cave if they feel attacked and extend those muscles to lock themselves in. There is some research indicating that roving coral groupers ( Plectropomus pessuliferus ) sometimes cooperate with giant morays in hunting. Deepwater benthopelagic fish are robust, muscular swimmers that actively cruise
640-509: A significant practical role in biological education and research. They provide an efficient framework for teaching taxonomy, as they group organisms with general similarities while remaining specific enough to be useful for identification purposes. For example, in botany, learning the characteristics of major plant families helps students identify related species across different geographic regions, since families often have worldwide distribution patterns. In many groups of organisms, families serve as
704-692: A vessel retrieves its fishing gear, its catch will consist of a mix of different species.” This has led to a situation whereby, even when the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea recommends a Total Allowable Catch of zero for a given demersal species in order to allow replenishment of population, the European Council nonetheless sets the Total Allowable Catch far above zero so long as
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#1733114681736768-427: Is also important, as indicated by the rapidity with which demersal fish find traps baited with bait fish . The main diet of deep sea demersal fish is invertebrates of the deep sea benthos and carrion . Smell, touch and lateral line sensitivities seem to be the main sensory devices for locating these. Like coastal demersal fish, deep sea demersal fish can be divided into benthic fish and benthopelagic fish, where
832-415: Is also used to refer to organism that live on top of the ocean floor, as opposed to those that burrow into the seafloor substrate. However the terms mesodemersal , epidemersal , mesobenthic and bathybenthic are not used. Coastal demersal fish are found on or near the seabed of coastal waters between the shoreline and the edge of the continental shelf , where the shelf drops into the deep ocean. Since
896-584: Is beneficial as their food is often below them in the substrate. Those bottom feeders with upward-pointing mouths, such as stargazers , tend to seize swimming prey. Benthic fish are denser than water, so they can rest on the sea floor. They either lie-and-wait as ambush predators , at times covering themselves with sand or otherwise camouflaging themselves, or move actively over the bottom in search for food. Benthic fish which can bury themselves include dragonets , flatfish and stingrays . Flatfish are an order of ray-finned benthic fishes which lie flat on
960-400: Is large, with a characteristic steep dorsal slant. There are no scales on the snout but there are scales on the cheeks. The preoperculum may or may not have scales and has no spines or serrations on its margin. The operculum is scaled and also has no spines. The mouth is slightly oblique and can be protruded a little. The upper jaw never extends back past a vertical line through the centre of
1024-411: Is often necessary. With demersal fish the sand is usually pumped out of the mouth through the gill slit . Most demersal fish exhibit a flat ventral region so as to more easily rest their body on the substrate. The exception may be the flatfish , which are laterally depressed but lie on their sides. Also, many exhibit what is termed an "inferior" mouth, which means that the mouth is pointed downwards; this
1088-458: Is supported by 3 robust spines and between 7 and 15 soft rays. The caudal fin varies from moderately deeply emarginate to forked. The pectoral fins are typically long and pointed and the pelvic fins are under or immediately to the rear of the bases of the pectoral fins, supported a single spine and 5 soft rays, with a scale in the axilla , referred to as the axillary pelvic process. The scales are typically smooth, cycloid , or slightly rough to
1152-569: The Prodromus of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle and the Genera Plantarum of George Bentham and Joseph Dalton Hooker this word ordo was used for what now is given the rank of family. Families serve as valuable units for evolutionary, paleontological, and genetic studies due to their relatively greater stability compared to lower taxonomic levels like genera and species. Families play
1216-499: The ICES as "outside safe biological limits." The by-catch problem A major problem in conservation of demersal fish populations is that of by-catch, whereby fish are caught by accident when targeting other species. The European Commission has written that “A key issue is that many of the most important demersal stocks (i.e. those that live on or near the bottom of the sea) are caught in mixed fisheries. In practice, this means that each time
1280-544: The Japan Trench in the Pacific. The fish were 30 centimetres long (12 in), and were darting about, using vibration sensors on their nose to catch shrimps. The team also reported that the appearance of the fish, unlike that of most deep sea fish, was surprisingly "cute", and that they were surprised by how active the fish were at these depths. Most demersal fish of commercial or recreational interest are coastal, confined to
1344-572: The abyssal plain , but they can be found around seamounts and islands. The word demersal comes from the Latin demergere , which means to sink . Demersal fish are bottom feeders . They can be contrasted with pelagic fish , which live and feed away from the bottom in the open water column . Demersal fish fillets contain little fish oil (one to four per cent), whereas pelagic fish can contain up to 30 per cent. Demersal fish can be divided into two main types: strictly benthic fish which can rest on
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#17331146817361408-489: The benthic regions beyond the continental margins. On the continental slope , demersal fishes are common. They are more diverse than coastal demersal fish, since there is more habitat diversity. Further out are the abyssal plains . These flat, featureless regions occupy about 40 per cent of the ocean floor. They are covered with sediment but largely devoid of benthic life ( benthos ). Deep sea benthic fishes are more likely to associate with canyons or rock outcroppings among
1472-407: The orange roughy and Patagonian toothfish . The edge of the continental shelf marks the boundary where the shelf gives way to, and then gradually drops into abyssal depths. This edge marks the boundary between coastal, relatively shallow, benthic habitats, and the deep benthic habitats. Coastal demersal fishes live on the bottom of inshore waters, such as bays and estuaries, and further out, on
1536-399: The -idae suffix for animal family names, derived from the Greek 'eidos' meaning 'resemblance' or 'like'. The adoption of this naming convention helped establish families as an important taxonomic rank. By the mid-1800s, many of Linnaeus's broad genera were being elevated to family status to accommodate the rapidly growing number of newly discovered species. In nineteenth-century works such as
1600-529: The Centracanthidae is synonymous with Sparidae and that the Spariformes contains only the remaining three families of the "Sparoid lineage". In the past workers recognised six subfamilies within the Sparidae. These were Boopsinae, Denticinae, Diplodinae, Pagellinae, Pagrinae, and Sparinae. However, these taxa did not resolve as monophyletic in all the analyses undertaken. These analyses support Sparidae as
1664-540: The Western Central Pacific. The most celebrated of the breams in cookery are the gilt-head bream and the common dentex . Family (biology) Family ( Latin : familia , pl. : familiae ) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy . It is classified between order and genus . A family may be divided into subfamilies , which are intermediate ranks between
1728-483: The benthic fish are negatively buoyant and benthopelagic fish are neutrally buoyant. The availability of plankton for food diminishes rapidly with depth. At 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), the biomass of plankton is typically about 1 per cent of that at the surface, and at 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) about 0.01 per cent. Given there is no sunlight, energy enters deep water zones as organic matter. There are three main ways this happens. Firstly, organic matter can move into
1792-430: The bottom because of their negative buoyancy. Deep sea stingrays are benthopelagic, and like the squaloids have very large livers which give them neutral buoyancy. Benthopelagic fish can be divided into flabby or robust body types. Flabby benthopelagic fishes are like bathypelagic fishes ; they have a reduced body mass, and low metabolic rates, expending minimal energy as they lie and wait to ambush prey. An example of
1856-405: The bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone ). They occupy the sea floors and lake beds, which usually consist of mud, sand, gravel or rocks. In coastal waters, they are found on or near the continental shelf , and in deep waters, they are found on or near the continental slope or along the continental rise. They are not generally found in the deepest waters, such as abyssal depths or on
1920-515: The bottom of the ocean floor with both eyes facing upwards. The side to which one eye migrates depends on the species; with some species both eyes are ultimately on the left side, whereas with other species the eyes are on the right. Flounder ambush their prey, feeding at soft muddy area of the sea bottom, near bridge piles, docks, artificial and coral reefs. Their diet consists mainly of fish spawn, crustaceans , polychaetes and small fish. The great hammerhead swings its head in broad angles over
1984-485: The bottom searching for prey. They often live around features, such as seamounts , which have strong currents. Commercial examples are the orange roughy and Patagonian toothfish . Because these fish were once abundant, and because their robust bodies are good to eat, these fish have been commercially harvested. Major demersal fishery species in the North Sea such as cod , plaice , monkfish and sole , are listed by
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2048-402: The bottom while they face the current and grab zooplankton as it passes by. The bodies of benthic fish are adapted for ongoing contact with the sea floor. Swimbladders are usually absent or reduced, and the bodies are usually flattened in one way or another. Following Moyle and Cech (2004) they can be divided into five overlapping body shapes: Benthopelagic fish inhabit the water just above
2112-416: The bottom, feeding on benthos and zooplankton . Most demersal fish are benthopelagic. Deep sea benthopelagic teleosts all have swimbladders . The dominant species, rattails and cusk eels , have considerable biomass. Other species include deep sea cods ( morids ), deep sea eels, halosaurs and notacanths . Benthopelagic sharks, like the deep sea squaloid sharks , achieve neutral buoyancy with
2176-407: The bottom. A third way energy can arrive is through fish, such as vertically migrating mesopelagic fishes that can enter into the demersal zone as they ascend or descend. The demersal fish and invertebrates consume organic matter that does arrive, break it down and recycle it. A consequence of these energy delivery mechanisms is that the abundance of demersal fish and invertebrates gradually decrease as
2240-612: The coast to spawn. Stargazers are found worldwide in shallow waters. They have eyes on top of their heads and a large upward-facing mouth. They bury themselves in sand, and leap upwards to ambush benthopelagic fish and invertebrates that pass overhead. Some species have a worm-shaped lure growing out of the floor of the mouth, which they wiggle to attract prey. Stargazers are venomous and can deliver electric shocks . They have been called "the meanest things in creation." Other examples of coastal demersal fish are cod , plaice , monkfish and sole . Deep water demersal fish occupy
2304-516: The continental shelf is generally less than 200 metres deep, this means that coastal waters are generally epipelagic . The term includes demersal reef fish and demersal fish that inhabit estuaries , inlets and bays . Young mangrove jacks , a sought after eating and sport fish , dwell in estuaries around mangrove roots, fallen trees, rock walls, and any other snag areas where smaller prey reside for protection. When they mature, they migrate into open waters, sometimes hundreds of kilometres from
2368-400: The distance from continental shorelines increases. Although deep water demersal fish species are not generally picky about what they eat, there is still some degree of specialisation. For example, different fish have different mouth sizes, which determines the size of the prey they can handle. Some feed mostly on benthopelagic organisms. Others fed mostly on epifauna (invertebrates on top of
2432-644: The eastern Gulf of Mexico , and are most abundant off the waters of New York . They are found in inshore waters (bays and sounds) and offshore in waters up to a depth of 130 m (425'). They spend most of their time close to the sea floor and are often congregated around bottom formations such as rocks, man-made reefs , wrecks, jetties, piers, and bridge pilings . Black sea bass are sought after recreational and commercial fish, and have been overfished . Grouper are often found around reefs. They have stout bodies and large mouths. They are not built for long-distance or fast swimming. They can be quite large, and lengths over
2496-403: The eye. There are teeth in the jaws which vary from conical or flattened but there are no teeth on the roof of the mouth. There is one dorsal fin which is supported by between 10 and 13 spines and 9 and 17 soft rays, with the ultimate ray being split into 2, and no incision separated the spines from the soft rays. The rearmost spines in the dorsal fin may be elongated or filamentous. The anal fin
2560-422: The family usually gather in schools, as do the juveniles of the larger species. The larger adult fishes are normally solitary or, at least, are less sociable and prefer deeper waters. The juveniles and subadults are often markedly different in shape and colour patterns, and may be much more colourful. Many sparids are hermaphroditic and some have both male and female sex organs at the same time. Others change sex as
2624-402: The fish is large, some scavengers burrow in and eat it from the inside out. Some fish, such as grenadiers , also appear and start feeding on the scavenging invertebrates and amphipods . Other specialization is based on depth distribution. Some of the more abundant upper continental slope fish species, such as cutthroat eel and longfinned hake , mainly feed on epipelagic fish . But generally,
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2688-552: The floor of the continental shelf . Deep water demersal fish live beyond this edge, mostly down the continental slopes and along the continental rises which drop to the abyssal plains . This is the continental margin , constituting about 28% of the total oceanic area. Other deep sea demersal fish can also be found around seamounts and islands. The term bathydemersal fish is sometimes used instead of "deep water demersal fish". Bathydemersal refers to demersal fish which live at depths greater than 200 metres. The term epibenthic
2752-493: The grow, either changing from male to female, i.e. protandrous . or from female to male, protogynous . Sparids are highly regarded as food fish and are important target species for commercial fisheries wherever they occur. Between 1990 and 1995, the FAO Yearbook of Fishery Statistics reported that the annual weight of landings was between 2,170 and 4,020 t (2,140 and 3,960 long tons; 2,390 and 4,430 short tons) of sparids in
2816-406: The literature. Family names are typically formed from the stem of a type genus within the family. In zoology, when a valid family name is based on a genus that is later found to be a junior synonym , the family name may be maintained for stability if it was established before 1960. In botany, some family names that were found to be junior synonyms have been conserved due to their widespread use in
2880-399: The most abundant deep water demersal fish species feed on invertebrates. At great depths, food scarcity and extreme pressure limits the ability of fish to survive. The deepest point of the ocean is about 11,000 metres. Bathypelagic fishes are not normally found below 3,000 metres. It may be that extreme pressures interfere with essential enzyme functions. The deepest-living fish known,
2944-422: The ocean floor. Examples are flounder , sole , turbot , plaice , and halibut . The adult fish of many species have both eyes on one side of the head. When the fish hatches, one eye is located on each side of its head. But as the fish grows from the larval stage, one eye migrates to the other side of the body as a process of metamorphosis . The flatfish then changes its habits, and camouflages itself by lying on
3008-1084: The plains, where invertebrate communities are established. Undersea mountains ( seamounts ) can intercept deep sea currents, and cause productive upwellings which support benthic fish. Undersea mountain ranges can separate underwater regions into different ecosystems. Rattails and brotulas are common, and other well-established families are eels , eelpouts , hagfishes , greeneyes , batfishes and lumpfishes . The bodies of deep water demersal fishes are muscular with well developed organs. In this way they are closer to mesopelagic fishes than bathypelagic fishes . In other ways, they are more variable. Photophores are usually absent, eyes and swimbladders range from absent to well developed. They vary in size, and larger species, greater than one metre, are not uncommon. Deep sea demersal fish are usually long and narrow. Many are eels or shaped like eels. This may be because long bodies have long lateral lines . Lateral lines detect low-frequency sounds, and some demersal fishes have muscles that drum such sounds to attract mates. Smell
3072-907: The primary level for taxonomic identification keys, making them particularly valuable for field guides and systematic work as they often represent readily recognizable groups of related organisms with shared characteristics. In ecological and biodiversity research, families frequently serve as the foundational level for identification in survey work and environmental studies. This is particularly useful because families often share life history traits or occupy similar ecological niches . Some families show strong correlations between their taxonomic grouping and ecological functions, though this relationship varies among different groups of organisms. The stability of family names has practical importance for applied biological work, though this stability faces ongoing challenges from new scientific findings. Modern molecular studies and phylogenetic analyses continue to refine
3136-488: The ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae , but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". The delineation of what constitutes a family—or whether a described family should be acknowledged—is established and decided upon by active taxonomists . There are not strict regulations for outlining or acknowledging
3200-486: The scientific literature. The family-group in zoological nomenclature includes several ranks: superfamily (-oidea), family (-idae), subfamily (-inae), and tribe (-ini). Under the principle of coordination, a name established at any of these ranks can be moved to another rank while retaining its original authorship and date, requiring only a change in suffix to reflect its new rank. New family descriptions are relatively rare in taxonomy, occurring in fewer than one in
3264-443: The sea floor to pick up the electrical signatures of stingrays buried in the sand. It then uses its "hammer" to pin down the stingray. Some fishes do not fit into the above classification. For example, the family of nearly blind spiderfishes , common and widely distributed, feed on benthopelagic zooplankton. Yet they are strictly benthic fish, since they stay in contact with the bottom. Their fins have long rays they use to "stand" on
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#17331146817363328-418: The sea floor, and benthopelagic fish which can float in the water column just above the sea floor. Benthopelagic fish have neutral buoyancy , so they can float at depth without much effort, while strictly benthic fish are denser, with negative buoyancy so they can lie on the bottom without any effort. Most demersal fish are benthopelagic. As with other bottom feeders, a mechanism to deal with substrate
3392-447: The seafloor surface, also called epibenthos ), or alternatively on infauna (invertebrates that burrow into the seafloor substrate). Infauna feeders can have considerable sediment in their stomachs. Scavengers, such as snubnosed eels and hagfish , also eat infauna as a secondary food source. Some feed on carrion. Cameras show that when a dead fish is placed on the bottom, vertebrate and invertebrate scavengers appear very quickly. If
3456-567: The seventy-six groups of plants he recognised in his tables families ( familiae ). The concept of rank at that time was not yet settled, and in the preface to the Prodromus Magnol spoke of uniting his families into larger genera , which is far from how the term is used today. In his work Philosophia Botanica published in 1751, Carl Linnaeus employed the term familia to categorize significant plant groups such as trees , herbs , ferns , palms , and so on. Notably, he restricted
3520-474: The strictly benthic Abyssobrotula galatheae , eel-like and blind, feeds on benthic invertebrates. A living example was trawled from the bottom of the Puerto Rico Trench in 1970 from a depth of 8,370 metres (27,453 ft). In 2008, a shoal of 17 hadal snailfish , a species of deep water snailfish , was filmed by a UK-Japan team using remote operated landers at depths of 7.7 km (4.8 mi) in
3584-585: The taxa within the Spariformes were classified within the Perciformes , with some authorities using the term "Sparoid lineage" for the families Centracanthidae, Nemipteridae, Lethrinidae and Sparidae. Since then the use of molecular phylogenetics in more modern classifications has meant that the Spariformes is recognised as a valid order within the Percomorpha containing six families, with Callanthidae, Sillaginidae and Lobotidae included. Other workers have found that
3648-438: The touch, weakly ctenoid , The lateral line is single and continuous and reached the base of the caudal fin. They are very variable in colour and may be pinkish or reddish to yellowish or greyish, frequently with tints of silver or gold and dark or coloured spots, stripes or bars. The two largest species of Sparid are the white steenbras ( Lithognathus lithognathus ) and the red steenbras ( Petrus rupestris ), both of which have
3712-545: The understanding of family relationships, sometimes leading to reclassification. The impact of these changes varies among different groups of organisms – while some families remain well-defined and easily recognizable, others require revision as new evidence emerges about evolutionary relationships. This balance between maintaining nomenclatural stability and incorporating new scientific discoveries remains an active area of taxonomic practice. Demersal fish Demersal fish , also known as groundfish , live and feed on or near
3776-440: The upper 200 metres. Commercially important demersal food fish species include flatfish , such as flounder , sole , turbot , plaice , and halibut . Also important are cod , hake , redfish , haddock , bass , congers , sharks , rays and chimaeras . The following table shows the world capture production of some groups of demersal species in tonnes. Black sea bass inhabit US coasts from Maine to NE Florida and
3840-480: The use of large oil-filled livers . Sharks adapt well to fairly high pressures. They can often be found on slopes down to about 2000 metres, scavenging on food falls such as dead whales . However, the energy demands of sharks are high, since they need to swim constantly and maintain a large amount of oil for buoyancy. These energy needs cannot be met in the extreme oligotrophic conditions that occur at great depths. Shallow water stingrays are benthic, and can lie on
3904-507: The use of this term solely within the book's morphological section, where he delved into discussions regarding the vegetative and generative aspects of plants. Subsequently, in French botanical publications, from Michel Adanson 's Familles naturelles des plantes (1763) and until the end of the 19th century, the word famille was used as a French equivalent of the Latin ordo (or ordo naturalis ). The family concept in botany
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#17331146817363968-427: The zone from the continental landmass, for example, through currents that carry the matter down rivers, then plume along the continental shelf and finally spill down the continental slope. Other matter enters as particulate matter raining down from the overhead water column in the form of marine snow , or as sinking overhead plant material such as eelgrass , or as "large particles" such as dead fish and whales sinking to
4032-412: Was further developed by the French botanists Antoine Laurent de Jussieu and Michel Adanson . Jussieu's 1789 Genera Plantarum divided plants into 100 'natural orders,' many of which correspond to modern plant families. However, the term 'family' did not become standardized in botanical usage until after the mid-nineteenth century. In zoology , the family as a rank intermediate between order and genus
4096-435: Was introduced by Pierre André Latreille in his Précis des caractères génériques des insectes, disposés dans un ordre naturel (1796). He used families (some of them were not named) in some but not in all his orders of "insects" (which then included all arthropods ). The standardization of zoological family names began in the early nineteenth century. A significant development came in 1813 when William Kirby introduced
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