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Anatomy & Morphology
Neoscorpis lithophilus is a fast growing fish. They can reach maturity around age 10. The max recorded length of the stone-bream is about 50 centimetres although the most common size for this fish is typically 18 centimetres long. An adult stone bream can reach up to 27cm and can weigh around 2.6kg.

The Stone Bream is often blue and silver in color. Each stone bream has anywhere from 6-8 dorsal fins and 20-25 dorsal soft rays. They are also equipped with 3 anal spines and around 20-26 anal soft rays. They have very small mouths. Like other species in the Kyphosid family, Neoscorpis lithophilus has two distinct rows of teeth. The front row contains 34 flat and sharp frontal teeth within their jaws. The second row of smaller sharp teeth protrudes from behind the first row of teeth. Their mouth contains around 3460 taste buds.

Habitat & Distribution
The stone bream can be found mainly in the Western Indian Ocean where it is native in the subtropical regions from 25°S - 35°S, 18°E - 34°E. Found around the subtropical islands of Inhaca located in South Africa, Stone Breams tend to gather in shallow tropical waters as opposed to deep waters. They tend to be desmeral, meaning that they tend to live at the bottom of the sea floor. They feed off of macro-algae found at the bottom of the oceans.

Behavior
Stone breams are mainly herbivores, meaning that their diet is composed of marine plants like macro-algae. Their diet consists of red algae and other sea plants. Because of this, they tend to dwell in shallow, rocky waters, feeding off of many different kinds of plants.

Taxonomy
Neoscorpis lithophilus are part of the Kyphosidae family. The Kyphosidae family is divided into two different genera: Kyphosus and Neoscorpis. The Neoscorpis genera contains only one known species which is the Neoscorpis lithophilus. The stone-bream was originally grouped into the Scorpididae family due to the similarities between the two. However, recent studies found that they were in fact different and thus the stone-bream was placed into a different family and into its own separate genera.

Human Interaction
The stone-bream does not contain any known threat to humans. They are fished mainly in the African regions for recreational purposes. Although they are caught recreationally, they are not overfished. Only those with special permits are allowed to catch them. Any sales of the Stone Bream is highly illegal to the public in South Africa.

Conservation Status
The status of the stone bream has not yet been evaluated.