Panga is the common South African name for Pterogymnus laniarius, a small, ocean-dwelling fish, native to the southeast Atlantic Ocean and southwest Indian Ocean. Alternatively called "torpedo scads", they are cold-blooded with white flesh. Their scales are generally pink in color with whitish underbelly and blue-green stripes running laterally along their sides.

Over the course of its life, a panga will undergo periodic sex-changes with as much as 30% of the population being hermaphroditic at a time. Despite the presence of both sex organs, it is thought unlikely that both are simultaneously active. Panga are slow to reach sexual maturity, with a minimum population doubling time of 4.5–14 years.

In other countries, the name panga may refer to a different species. In Indonesia, it refers to Megalaspis cordyla, in Spain, the Netherlands and Poland it refers to Pangasius hypophthalmus, and in Kenya it refers to Trichiurus lepturus.

References

• "Pterogymnus laniarius". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=647974. Retrieved 19 March 2006.
• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2005). "Pterogymnus laniarius" in FishBase. November 2005 version.