Description: Body oblong and slightly compressed laterally. Large eyes, short snout and small mouth; scales on the cheeks and on the opercle. Dorsal fin single. Caudal fin forked. Silvery grey, back darker, with blue reflections; fine longitudinal dark lines on the sides, along rows of scales. Has a large black saddle-shaped blotch on the caudal peduncle, surrounded by a white ring. The fins are light coloured.
Global Distribution: Eastern Atlantic from the Bay of Biscay to Angola, including Madeira, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde; also in the Mediterranean. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length 36.6 cm (total length); common length 20.0 cm (TL).
Behavioural ecology: Gregarious. May form large aggregations. Always actively swimming, from the bottom to the surface, often in mid-water.
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: ? - 30 m.
Habitat: Benthopelagic. Forms aggregations over rocky bottoms or seagrass beds.
Feeding habits: Omnivorous, but feeds mostly on small invertebrates.
Trophic level: FishBase: 3.0
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Commercial species.
Conservation status: Global: Not evaluated.
Europe: Least concern.
Nutritional information & food safety:
REFERENCES
Borges T.C., Olim S., Erzini K. (2003). Weight–length relationships for fish species discarded in commercial fisheries of the Algarve (southern Portugal). Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 19(6): 394-396.
Crec'hriou R., Neveu R., Lenfant P. (2012). Length–weight relationship of main commercial fishes from the French Catalan coast.Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 28(5): 861-862.
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.
