Panga
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2008-07-01T21:12:39Z
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:''This article is about the panga fish. See [[machete]] for information about the African cutting tool. See [[panga (boat)]] for information about the small watercraft used by commercial fishermen in Central America''
{{Taxobox
| name = Panga
| image = Pterogymnus laniarius.png
| image_width = 250px
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Actinopterygii]]
| ordo = [[Perciformes]]
| familia = [[Sparidae]]
| genus = '''''Pterogymnus'''''
| genus_authority = Smith, 1938
| species = '''''P. laniarius'''''
| binomial = ''Pterogymnus laniarius''
| binomial_authority = ([[Achille Valenciennes|Valenciennes]], 1830)
}}
'''Panga''' is the common [[South Africa]]n name for '''''Pterogymnus laniarius''''', a small [[wiktionary:oceanodromous|ocean-dwelling]] [[fish]], native to the south-east [[Atlantic Ocean]] and south-west [[Indian Ocean]]. Alternatively called "Torpedo scads", 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 [[hermaphrodite|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 , panga refers to ''Megalaspis cordyla'', in Spain and Poland it refers to [[Pangasius hypophthalmus]], and in Kenya it refers to ''Trichiurus lepturus''.
==References==
* {{ITIS|ID=647974|taxon=Pterogymnus laniarius|year=2006|date=19 March}}
* {{FishBase_species|genus=Pterogymnus|species=laniarius|year=2005|month=November}}In India "Panga" Means to pick a Quarrel,Squabble,
Bicker, Argue and Wrangle
==External links==
* [http://www.fao.org:80/fi/website/FIRetrieveAction.do?dom=species&fid=3123 FAO's Species Fact Sheet about ''Megalaspis cordyla'']
[[Category:Sparidae]]
[[eu:Panga]]
[[fr:Pterogymnus laniarius]]
[[nl:Panga (vis)]]
[[pl:Panga (ryba)]]