Description: A small to medium-sized seabream. Body deep, oval, and laterally compressed. Snout rather pointed, scaleless; cheeks scaly. Mouth slightly protrusible, with thick lips; teeth differentiated into incisors and molars. Single dorsal fin. Caudal fin forked. Silvery or grey with golden reflections, with five broad dark transverse bands on the sides, and a dark band over the eyes and cheeks. Has a small dark spot at the upper part of the pectoral axil. Fins are grey; the pelvic fins darker. During the reproductive season they may present a yellow spot under the eyes.
Global Distribution: Eastern Atlantic from Bay of Biscay to the Canary Islands, and also in South Africa; in the Mediterranean.
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length 55.0 cm (total length); common length 35.0 cm (TL); maximum published weight: 2.7 kg.
Behavioural ecology: Forms schools of 4 or 5 individuals of different sizes; sometimes solitary.
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 30 - 300 m.
Habitat: Benthopelagic on the shelf, on rocky bottoms from 30 to 80 m depth, but may also occur down to 300 m on muddy bottoms. Young live close to shore and more into deeper water as they grow older.
Feeding habits: Omnivorous, feeds on small invertebrates, algae and seaweeds.
Trophic level: FishBase: 3.0
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Commercial species.
Conservation status: Global: Not evaluated.
Europe: Least concern.
Nutritional information & food safety:
REFERENCES
Direcção Regional de Pescas, Madeira.
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. 4, 316 pp.
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
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.
