Description: A medium-sized fish, with body somewhat deep. Dorsal fin single, with a spiny and a soft-rayed part. The third spine of the dorsal fin is elongated. Pelvic fins much longer than pectoral fins. Caudal fin with acute lobes; the bottom one longer. The rear edge of the opercle has three spines, the middle one longer. Bright pink, red or orange colouration, with three yellow lines on the sides of the head; often has brown blotches on the back.
Global Distribution: Western Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic from Portugal to Namibia, including the Azores and Madeira. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length 27.0 cm (standard length); common length 15.0 cm (SL).
Age:
Weight length rel.: Seine Seamount (Christiansen et al. 2009): a=0.0235, b=2.57 (n=61).
Portugal, west coast (Mendes et al. 2004): a=0.0242, b=2.611, r2=0.807 (n=17).
FishBase: Bayesian estimated length-weight: a=0.01148 (0.00496 - 0.02658), b=2.99 (2.79 - 3.19).
Growth type: Isometric (Mendes et al. 2004).
von Bertallanfy growth parameters:
Reproduction: Protogynous.
Maturity:
Behavioural ecology: Nocturnal. Form loose aggregations which occasionally mingle with the Azores chromis, Chromis limbata.
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 30 - 300 m, usually 30 - 50 m.
Habitat: Reef-associated. Lives amongst rocks, gravel, coral, and in submarine caves on the continental or insular shelf and upper slope.
Feeding habits: Feeds on crustaceans and small fishes.
Trophic level: FishBase: 3.8
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Commercial species.
Conservation status: Global: Not evaluated.
Europe: Least concern.
Nutritional information & food safety:
REFERENCES
Carpenter K.E., ed. (2002). The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. FAO, Rome, pp. 601-1374.
Christiansen B., Martin B., Hirch S. (2009). The benthopelagic fish fauna on the summit on Seine Seamount, NE Atlantic: Composition, population structure and diets. Deep-Sea Research II, 56: 2705-2712.
González J., Hernández C., Marrero P., Rapp E. (2000). Peces de Canarias: GuÃa Submarina (5th edition). Francisco Lemus Editor, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canarias, Spain, 235 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
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.
