see text Otolithes is a small genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers.

Its only species was Johnius ruber,[1] which had been described by Marcus Elieser Bloch and Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider in 1801 from the "Indian Ocean".

Cuvier explained in 1830 that this was based on the peche-pierre, a name meaning "peach stone" which was used by French and Portuguese colonial settlers in Pondicherry and refers to the large otoliths of Johnius ruber.

The swim bladder is shaped like a carrot and the forward branches do not extend into the head.

[7] Otolithes tigertooth croakers are found in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans from South Africa east to Australia.