Kurtus is a genus of percomorph fishes, called the nurseryfishes, forehead brooders, or incubator fish, native to fresh, brackish and coastal marine waters ranging from India, through southeast Asia, to New Guinea and northern Australia. Kurtus is currently the only known genus in the family Kurtidae, one of two families in the order Kurtiformes. They are famous for carrying their egg clusters on hooks protruding from the forehead (supraoccipital) of the males, although this only has been documented in K. gulliveri and available evidence strongly suggests this is not done by K. indicus (where the hook likely also is too small to carry embryos). Females do not have a hook.

  • Kurtus gulliveri <small>Castelnau, 1878</small> (nurseryfish)
  • Kurtus indicus <small>Bloch, 1786</small> (Indian humphead)

References