Description: Body elongate. Large mouth, with two rows of canine-like teeth; front teeth of the first row longer and protruding. Edge of preoperculum serrated. Scales rather large, extending to dorsal, anal and caudal fin membranes. A single, long-based dorsal fin, with spines and soft rays; robust pectoral fins. Light brown or greenish with indistinct clear bands; lighter on the belly. Dark blotch on upper part of caudal peduncle and in the end of the spiny part of the dorsal fin.
Global Distribution: Eastern Atlantic from Norway to Gabon, including the archipelagos of Madeira, Azores and the Canary Islands; also in the Mediterranean. View Map
Reproduction: Oviparous, form pairs during breeding. Males build dish shaped nests and guard the eggs.
Maturity:
Behavioural ecology: Usually solitary, forms pairs during breeding.
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 30 - 500 m.
Habitat: Reef-associated. Inhabits coastal waters near rocky or sandy bottoms.
Feeding habits: Feeds on benthic invertebrates.
Trophic level: FishBase: 3.5
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Commercial species
Conservation status: Global: Least concern.
Europe: Least concern.
Nutritional information & food safety:
REFERENCES
Carpenter K.E., ed. (2002). The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and marine mammals. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. FAO, Rome, pp. 1375-2127.
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
Mendes B., Fonseca P., Campos A. (2004). Weight–length relationships for 46 fish species of the Portuguese west coast. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 20(5): 355-361.
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.
