Description: Body ovoid, deep, and compressed laterally. Dorsal profile of the head depressed above the eyes. Short snout; cheeks scaly. Single dorsal fin. Silvery grey with blue, green or pink reflections; with more or less discontinuous longitudinal golden lines on the sides. Head darker, especially on the snout and between the eyes. Vertical fins dark; caudal fin with a black margin. When scared, juveniles present a pattern of 5 or 6 transverse bars.
Global Distribution: Eastern Atlantic from Scandinavia to northern Namibia, including Madeira, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde; Mediterranean and the Black Sea. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length 60.0 cm (standard length); common length 30.0 cm (SL); maximum published weight 1.2 kg.
Age:
Weight length rel.: Portugal, south coast (Borges et al. 2003): a=0.01049, b=3.109, r2=0.98 (n=76).
Portugal, south coast (Santos et al. 2002): a=0.0143, b=3.001, r2=0.978 (n=381).
Portugal, west coast (Mendes et al. 2004): a=0.0126, b=3.041, r2=0.873 (n=27).
Spain, south-west coast (Torres et al. 2012): a=0.0098, b=3.103, r2=0.99 (n=271).
FishBase: Bayesian estimated length-weight: a=0.01380 (0.01248 - 0.01527), b=3.04 (3.01 - 3.07).
Growth type: Isometric (Santos et al. 2002; Mendes et al. 2004) / positive allometric (Torres et al. 2012).
von Bertallanfy growth parameters:
Reproduction: Protogynic hermaphrodites, maturing first as females and then changing sex to males. This process is accompanied by a noticeable darkening of the body. Spawning season from January to July (Canary Islands). They build a nest in the sand where they deposit the eggs, which are guarded by the male until they hatch.
Maturity: 20.6 cm.
Behavioural ecology: Gregarious, sometimes in large schools.
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 5 - 300 m.
Habitat: Benthopelagic. Found over seagrass beds and rocky and sandy bottoms.
Feeding habits: Omnivorous, feeding on seaweeds and small invertebrates, especially crustaceans.
Trophic level: FishBase: 3.3
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Commercial species.
Conservation status: Global: Not evaluated.
Europe: Least concern.
Nutritional information & food safety:
Proximate composition per 100 g:
energy value 164.9 kcal (8.2% DRV)
protein 18.3 g (36.6% DRV)
fat 6.9 g (9.7% DRV)
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.
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
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.
Santos M.N., Gaspar M.B., Vasconcelos P., Monteiro C.C. (2002). Weight–length relationships for 50 selected fish species of the Algarve coast (southern Portugal). Fisheries Research, 59(1): 289-295.
Spitz J., Mourocq E. Schoen V., Ridoux V. (2010). Proximate composition and energy content of forage species from the Bay of Biscay: high- or low-quality food? ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67(5): 909-915.
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.
