calcarifer

Calcarifer is a Latin adjectival term used in scientific names as a species epithet. Derived from calcar, meaning spur, and -ifer, meaning bearing, it literally means spur-bearing. As an adjective, calcarifer agrees in gender with the genus name in binomial nomenclature.

The epithet is used across multiple taxa to describe a spur-like feature or as a historical descriptor; it does not designate a single taxon on its own.

The best-known use of calcarifer is in Lates calcarifer, the barramundi or Asian seabass. This large predatory fish is native to the Indo-Pacific region, ranging from the Persian Gulf to northern Australia and parts of Southeast Asia. It inhabits estuaries and rivers, tolerates brackish water, and can migrate between freshwater and seawater. Barramundi are important commercially and recreationally and are widely farmed in aquaculture.

In taxonomy, epithets such as calcarifer may appear in other genera as well, reflecting descriptive or commemorative choices by taxonomists. The term itself is not a taxon, but a component of various species names used to convey a characteristic or attribution associated with the organism.