Lactarius

Lactarius is a genus of mushroom-producing, ectomycorrhizal fungi, containing several edible species. The species of the genus, commonly known as milk-caps, are characterized by the milky fluid ("latex") they exude when cut or damaged. Like the closely related genus Russula, their flesh has a distinctive brittle consistency. It is a large genus with roughly 450 known species, mainly distributed in the Northern hemisphere. Recently, the genus Lactifluus has been separated from Lactarius based on molecular phylogenetic evidence.

Systematics and taxonomy

The genus Lactarius was described by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1797 with L. piperatus as the original type species. In 2011, L. torminosus was accepted as the new type of the genus after the splitting-off of Lactifluus as separate genus.

The name "Lactarius" is derived from the Latin lac, "milk".

Placement within Russulaceae

Molecular phylogenetics uncovered that, while macromorphologically well-defined, milk-caps were in fact a paraphyletic genus; as a consequence, the genera Lactifluus was split from Lactarius, and the species L. furcatus was moved to the new genus Multifurca, together with some former Russula species.Multifurca also represents the likely sister group of Lactarius (see phylogeny, right). In the course of these taxonomical rearrangements, the name Lactarius was conserved for the genus with the new type species Lactarius torminosus; this way, the name Lactarius could be retained for the bigger genus with many well-known temperate species, while the name Lactifluus has to be applied only to a smaller number of species, containing mainly tropical, but also some temperate milk-caps such as Lactifluus volemus and Lf. vellereus.

False trevally

The false trevally, Lactarius lactarius, is species of fish in the family Lactariidae, currently the sole member of the family.

Distribution

The false trevally is native to the Indian Ocean and from East Africa to Southeast Asia, and in the western Pacific Ocean from Japan to Queensland, Australia. It is a coastal species, occurring in marine and brackish waters at depths of from 15 to 100 m (49 to 328 ft). It is an important species to local commercial fisheries.

Description

This fish is colored silvery-grey on the upper parts with blue iridescence dorsally and a dusky black spot on the upper gill cover. The underparts are colored silvery-white. The fins are pale yellow. This species can reach a length of 40 cm (16 in), though most do not exceed 30 cm (12 in).

Gallery

False trevallies in Visakhapatnam Landing Center, Andhra Pradesh, India

False trevallies in Visakhapatnam Landing Center, Andhra Pradesh, India

False trevallies in Visakhapatnam Landing Center, Andhra Pradesh, India