Global Distribution: Worldwide in tropical and temperate seas. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length 500 cm (total length); common length 335 cm (TL); maximum published weight: 400.0 kg.
Age:
Weight length rel.:
Growth type:
von Bertallanfy growth parameters:
Reproduction: Viviparous. The female gives birth to 30 - 40 young.
Maturity: range 265 - ? cm.
Behavioural ecology: Young often found in large aggregations of hundreds of individuals .
Population structure & migrations: Migrates northward in summer.
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 0 - 200 m, usually 0 - 20 m.
Habitat: Coastal, pelagic, and semi-oceanic, but often bottom associated at 1-139 m. Occurs inshore and well offshore, over continental and insular shelves. Juveniles occur very close to shore.
Feeding habits: Prefers to feed on small sharks, skates and stingrays, but also preys on bony fishes, shrimps, crabs, barnacles and cephalopods.
Trophic level:
FISHERIES
Commercial interest:
Conservation status: Global: Vulnerable.
Europe: Data deficient.
Nutritional information & food safety:
REFERENCES
Brito A., Pascual P.J., Falcón J.M., Sancho A., González G. (2002). Peces de las islas Canarias. Catálogo comentado e ilustrado. Francisco Lemos Editor, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, 418 pp.
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.
