Description: Body elongate, deep, compressed anteriorly. Head short, massive, with a convex dorsal profile. Snout slightly longer than that of M. helena. Uniformly black colouration.
Global Distribution: Insular distribution, restricted to the archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length 90 cm; maximum weight 1698 g.
Age: Maximum reported age: 12 years. Estimated lifespan A0.95=17.9 years.
Maturity: Mean length at 50% maturity: 558 mm TL (5.3 years)
Behavioural ecology: May form groups and is often seen in pairs sharing the same refuge. Mostly nocturnal. Territorial. Known to bite if provoked.
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 0 - 250 m, usually 0 - 50 m.
Habitat: Demersal, reef-associated. On rocky or stony bottoms. Usually found lurking in holes, and writhing snakelike through crevices, under large rocks or corals.
Feeding habits:
Trophic level: FishBase: 4.0
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Commercial species.
Conservation status: Global: Not evaluated.
Europe: Least concern.
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.
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.
Haddad Jr. V., Barreiros J.P. (2007). Animais Marinhos dos Açores: Perigosos e Venenosos. Blu edições, 60 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.
