Description: A small, slender aulopiform fish, almost oval in cross-section. Eyes very large, green, elliptical, with teardrop-shaped pupil. Broad spatulate snout, lower jaw projecting beyond upper jaw and ending in a bony knob. Anus located closer to pelvic fins than to anal fin. Body yellow to brown with dark blotches.
Global Distribution: Circumglobal in temperate and tropical regions, on continental and insular shelves and upper slopes. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length 40.0 cm (total length); common length 20.0 cm (standard length).
von Bertallanfy growth parameters: Western Mediterranean (D'Onghia et al. 2006): L∞=189.04, k=0.24 (year), t0=-1.20.
Reproduction: A simultaneous hermaphrodite. Reproduction takes place in summer and early autumn. Young stages are pelagic near the surface. Absolute fecundity 569 - 7428 oocytes (mean 3018); functional fecundity between 37 - 69% of absolute fecundity, and increased significantly with individual size (TL and weight), as does egg size. Batch spawner.
Maturity: (Considering maturity in the female portion of the gonad): 115 mm (TL). Maturity is reached around 3 years.
Behavioural ecology: Forms schools.
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 50 - 1000 m.
Habitat: Found on the continental shelf and upper slope over mud and clay bottom. Young are pelagic, living near the surface, the adults are demersal, living between 50 and 1000 m depth.
Feeding habits: Feeds mainly fishes and a wide range of crustaceans and other invertebrates, both benthic and pelagic.
Trophic level: FishBase: 3.7
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Low commercial interest. Detected in experimental fishing.
Conservation status: Global: Not evaluated.
Europe: Least concern.
Nutritional information & food safety:
REFERENCES
Anastasopoulou A., Kapiris K. (2008). Feeding ecology of the shortnose greeneye Chlorophthalmus agassizi Bonaparte, 1840 (Pisces: Chlorophthalmidae) in the eastern Ionian Sea (eastern Mediterranean). Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 24(2): 170-179.
Anastasopoulou A., Yiannopoulos C., Megalofonou P., Papaconstantinou C. (2006). Distribution and population structure of the Chlorophthalmus agassizi (Bonaparte, 1840) on an unexploited fishing ground in the Greek Ionian Sea. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 22(6): 521-529.
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.
Carpenter K.E., ed. (2002). The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. FAO, Rome, pp. 601-1374.
D’Onghia G., Sion L., Maiorano P., Mytilineou C., Dalessandro S., Carlucci R., Desantis S. (2006). Population biology and life strategies of Chlorophthalmus agassizii Bonaparte, 1840 (Pisces: Osteichthyes) in the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Biology, 149(3): 435-446.
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.
