Description: A medium-sized benthopelagic fish. Body soft, elongated, more rounded in the anterior part and laterally compressed behind. Large mouth. Two dorsal fins; the first short-based but long-rayed; the second long-based, with straight distal margin; anal fin also long-based. Pelvic fins with two elongated rays developed into long slender feelers, extending beyond anal fin origin. Caudal fin well developed, separate from other fins, with rounded tip. Brownish or grey dorsally, pale ventrally; vertical fins with dark margins. Often has a dark blotch in the middle of the second dorsal fin.
Global Distribution: Northeastern Atlantic from Norway to Morocco, and the Mediterranean. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length 110 cm (total length); common length 45.0 (TL); maximum published weight 3.5 kg.
Age: 20 years.
Weight length rel.: Azores (Rosa et al. 2006): a=0.0043, b=3.166, r2=0.980 (n=170).
Portugal, west coast (Mendes et al. 2004): a=0.0156, b=2.843, r2=0.949 (n=39).
Spain, south-west coast (Torres et al. 2012): a=0.0072, b=3.006, r2=0.97 (n=51).
Growth type: Isometric (Mendes et al. 2004; Torres et al. 2012).
Growth is slow. Females grow faster than males.
von Bertallanfy growth parameters:
Reproduction: Spawns from January to May in the Mediterranean and from spring to the beginning of summer in the northeastern Atlantic.
Maturity: males 18 cm, females 33 cm
Behavioural ecology:
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 10 - 1047 m, usually 100 - 450.
Habitat: Benthopelagic, over sand and mud bottoms. Young more coastal and found on the continental or insular shelf while adults migrate along the slope.
Feeding habits: Young feed mainly on crustaceans and older individuals (> 15 cm) feed mainly on fish.
Trophic level: FishBase: 3.7
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Commercial species. Commercially it is not distinguished from the closely related Phycis phycis.
Conservation status: Global: Not evaluated.
Europe: Data deficient.
Nutritional information & food safety:
REFERENCES
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.
Cohen D.M., Inada T., Iwamoto T., Scialabba N. (1990). FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 10. Gadiform fishes of the world (Family Gadiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cods, hakes, grenadiers and other gadiform fishes known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125, Vol. 10. FAO, Rome, 442 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.
Rosa A., Menezes G., Melo O., Pinho M.R. (2006). Weight–length relationships of 33 demersal fish species from Azores archipelago. Fisheries Research, 80(2): 329-332.
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.
