Relevant synonyms Diplodus senegalensis Misidentification None Meristic formula D, X-XI+13-15; A, III+13-15; P, 14-15; V, I+5; LL, 48-54 ; GR, 6-9+12-14  drawing : Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body ovate and compressed, with back elevated. Head large, with upper profile convex. Scales on cheeks and operculum. Mouth small, terminal, horizontal and slightly protractile, with 8 incisiform teeth in front of both jaws and one row of small molariform teeth just behind. Dorsal fin single; last spines and first soft rays about equal in length. Pectoral fin long and pointed. Pelvic fin just behind pectoral fin bases, with axillary scale. Caudal fin forked. color : silvery grey, with head darker. Dark saddle on the caudal peduncle, and dark spot at the origin of lateral line. Small dark spot more or less shaded at the upper pectoral axil. Fins greyish. Eyes grey. Juveniles with 5 large transverse dark stripes. size : common 10-15 cm in Mediterranean (max. 35 cm in the Atlantic). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Diplodus annularis: anal fin with 10-12 soft rays. No dark spot at the origin of lateral line, and one almost annular dark band on caudal peduncle. Ventral fins yellowish. Diplodus cervinus: no molariform teeth behind the incisiform. Broad tranverse dark bands on flanks. Diplodus puntazzo: molariform teeth rudimentary. Diplodus vulgaris: broad black band from nape to axil of pectoral fin. Diplodus sargus: several rows of small molariform teeth behind the incisiform teeth. Species of the genera Dentex, Spondyliosoma, Oblada, Crenidens, Sarpa and Boops: lateral teeth conical or pointed, not molariform. Species of the genera Sparus, Pagrus, Lithognathus and Pagellus: no incisiform teeth in front of jaws. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY In the Atlantic, spawning season in April-June. Feeds on benthic molluscs and crustaceans. Young are gregarious and often enter lagoons and rivers. However, this behaviour has not been reported in the Mediterranean. habitat : inshore waters (mainly between 5 and 50 m depth), over sand or muddy bottom and seagrass beds.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Off Málaga (Alboran Sea), 1981-82. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Eastern Atlantic, from south of Portugal to Cape Verde. Mediterranean : recorded first off Málaga, Alboran Sea (Reina-Hervás et al., 1981-82)* ; successively recorded in Ceuta (northern coast of Africa) and southeastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula from Punta Europa to Cape of Gata (Reina-Hervás et al., 1983). * Note: according to Matallanas et al. (1981), some specimens of this species were previously caught off Málaga and Ceuta by Lozano-Rey, but misidentified as Diplodus annularis. ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Rare. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via Gibraltar. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS Occasionally caught with trammel net, seine net and handline. Marketed fresh, jointly with Diplodus annularis.

KEY REFERENCES Matallanas J., Ibáñez M., Sanmillán M.D. and Riba G., 1981. Catálogo de los peces marinos de la colección del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Madrid. Publicacion del Departmonto de Zoologia, Universitat. Autonoma de Barcelona, 1: 138 pp. Reina-Hervás J.A., Blasco M. and Sánchez J.M., 1983. Presencia de Diplodus bellottii (Steindachner, 1882) en las aguas ibéricas. II Jornadas de Ictiología Ibérica, Comunic. nº 94: 5 pp. Reina-Hervás J.A., Muñoz-Chápuli R. and Blasco M., 1981-82. Presencia de teleósteos atlánticos en el Mediterráneo occidental. Mon. Trab. Zool., Málaga, 3-4: 49-56. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: March 2001 ©ciesm 2002