Description: A small to medium-sized fish. Body oblong and somewhat compressed. Upper jaw very protrusible. Single continuous dorsal fin, with spines followed by soft rays. Caudal fin forked. Head elevated posteriorly in large specimens. Bluish-grey above, silvery on the sides with dark spots; a large dark blotch on the side, above the end of the pectoral fin.
Global Distribution: Eastern Central Atlantic: Portugal, Morocco, Madeira, and Canary Islands; also in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length : 25.0 cm (standard length) (male); 21.0 cm (SL) (female); common length : 14.0 cm (total length).
Growth type: Positive allometric (Torres et al. 2012).
von Bertallanfy growth parameters:
Reproduction: Protogynous hermaphrodite.
Maturity: 10.3 cm
Behavioural ecology:
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 30 - 130 m.
Habitat: Pelagic-neritic. Adults are found in the neritic zone, commonly over Posidonia beds and on sand or muddy bottoms.
Feeding habits: Feeds on zooplankton.
Trophic level: FishBase: 4.2
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Minor commercial species. Also gamefish.
Conservation status: Global: Not evaluated.
Europe: Least concern.
Nutritional information & food safety:
REFERENCES
Fischer W., Bianchi G., Scott W.B., eds. (1981). FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Eastern Central Atlantic; fishing areas 34, 47 (in part). Canada Funds-in-Trust. Ottawa, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, by arrangement with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, vol. 1, 326 pp.
Hureau J.-C., ed. (1984-1985). Fishes of the North-Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO. Accessed through: Marine Species Identification Portal. World Wide Web electronic publication. http://species-identification.org (2014).
IUCN (2014). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. www.iucnredlist.org
Nieto A., Ralph G.M., Comeros-Raynal M.T., Kemp J., GarcÃa Criado M., Allen D.J., Dulvy N.K., Walls R.H.L., Russell B., Pollard D., GarcÃa S., Craig M., Collette B.B., Pollom R., Biscoito M., Labbish Chao N., Abella A., Afonso P., Ãlvarez H., Carpenter K.E., Clò S., Cook R., Costa M.J., Delgado J., Dureuil M., Ellis J.R., Farrell E.D., Fernandes P., Florin A-B., Fordham S., Fowle, S., Gil de Sola L., Gil Herrera J., Goodpaster A., Harvey M., Heessen H., Herler J., Jung A., Karmovskaya E., Keskin C., Knudsen S.W., Kobyliansky S., KovaÄić M., Lawson J.M., Lorance P., McCully Phillips S., Munroe T., Nedreaas K., Nielsen J., Papaconstantinou C., Polidoro B., Pollock C.M., Rijnsdorp A.D., Sayer C., Scott J., Serena F., Smith-Vaniz W.F., Soldo A., Stump E., Williams J.T. (2015). Europen Red List of Marine Fishes. IUCN and European Union, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 90 pp.
Torres M.A., Ramos F., Sobrino I. (2012). Length–weight relationships of 76 fish species from the Gulf of Cadiz (SW Spain). Fisheries Research, 127: 171-175.
