Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Moronidae (Temperate basses)
Etymology: Dicentrarchus: Greek, di = two + Greek, kentron = sting + Greek, archos = anus (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Bloch.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; pelagic-neritic; depth range 30 - ? m (Ref. 5990). Subtropical; 51°N - 10°N
Eastern Atlantic: English Channel (occasional) southward along the coasts of Europe and Morocco to Senegal and the Canary Islands; also southern Mediterranean and the Gulf of Suez.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 21.6 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 70.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 57391); common length : 30.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3397)
Dorsal spines (total): 9 - 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12 - 14; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 10 - 12. Diagnosis: elongate fish with 2 separate dorsal fins and a rather deep caudal peduncle; vomerine teeth patch anchor-shaped, with the posterior teeth extending to the midline of palate; scales on interorbital space ctenoid; opercle with 2 flat spines; lower preopercular margin with large, forward-pointing spines; caudal fin moderately forked; scales small (Ref. 57391).
Coloration: silvery grey, back bluish in life; juveniles and adults with small dark markings scattered over back and sides; a very distinct black spot on opercle (Ref. 57391).
Coastal species (Ref. 4197), found in coastal marine and brackish waters (Ref. 57391). Occurs on various kinds of bottoms, including sand, muddy sand and rocks; occasionally occurring in rivers (Ref. 6916, 57391). Also capable of living in hypersaline habitats (Sine Saloum in Senegal)(Ref. 57391). Feeds mainly on shrimps and mollusks, also fishes (Ref. 5990).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Smith, C.L., 1990. Moronidae. p. 692-694. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 6916)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 13.3 - 20.7, mean 17.3 °C (based on 39 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.7656 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00813 (0.00636 - 0.01039), b=3.03 (2.96 - 3.10), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.9 ±0.65 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.07-0.16).
Prior r = 0.25, 95% CL = 0.16 - 0.37, Based on 1 full stock assessment.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (36 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref.
125649): High to very high vulnerability (74 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 35.4 [3.9, 188.9] mg/100g; Iron = 0.815 [0.282, 2.003] mg/100g; Protein = 20.5 [19.2, 21.9] %; Omega3 = 0.345 [0.187, 0.624] g/100g; Selenium = 10.5 [3.3, 29.4] μg/100g; VitaminA = 9.83 [2.35, 42.99] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.716 [0.328, 1.624] mg/100g (wet weight); based on
nutrient studies.
