Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Gerreidae (Mojarras)
Etymology: Gerres: Latin, gerres = a kind of anchovies; cited by Plinius.
Eponymy: Major Paul Ayshford Methuen, 4th Baron Methuen (1886–1974), was an English painter, zoologist and landowner. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Regan.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; benthopelagic. Subtropical; 11°S - 36°S, 24°E - 51°E
Western Indian Ocean: southern Mozambique to Algoa Bay, South Africa; also reported from Madagascar.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 14.0  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 30.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5213); common length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3409)
Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10 - 11; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 7. Silvery in color but olive brown above; brown stripes following scale rows above lateral line and the 4 rows below it; spinous dorsal fin with black margins (Ref. 4372). Squamation pattern on the preopercular flange 5-17 scales (Ref. 41102).
Adults inhabit coastal waters including estuaries. They form schools (Ref. 5213). They feed on invertebrates (Ref. 3409). Fry about 10 cm in length enter the estuaries and stay until they reach maturity (Ref. 34363).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Woodland, D.J., 1986. Gerreidae. p. 608-609. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. (Ref. 4372)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 23.8 - 27.7, mean 26.3 °C (based on 68 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01820 (0.00937 - 0.03533), b=3.06 (2.90 - 3.22), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.6 ±0.59 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (20 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 78.9 [35.9, 162.3] mg/100g; Iron = 0.812 [0.391, 1.642] mg/100g; Protein = 18.6 [16.7, 20.6] %; Omega3 = 0.282 [0.131, 0.554] g/100g; Selenium = 21.5 [10.1, 44.5] μg/100g; VitaminA = 12 [3, 45] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.884 [0.568, 1.404] mg/100g (wet weight);