Relevant synonyms None Misidentification Lagocephalus scleratus Meristic formula D, 10-11; A, 9; P, 15-16  photo : David Darom

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body inflatable, when not inflated, elongated and round in front, tapering toward caudal fin. Pointed short-bases, dorsal and anal fins, posterior in position. Caudal fin forked to lunated. Pectoral fin with wide base and round margin. Pelvic fin absent. Large head with blunt snout. Small mouth, jaws beak-like with two teeth in each jaw. Gill slit in front of pectoral fin base. No scales. Minute spinules on the belly and on the dorsal surface, extending to origin of dorsal fin. Two lateral lines curving anteriorly around eyes. color : back-brown to olive grey with irregular shaped darker brown to grey dots in various sizes. Bright silver stripe on the side and white belly. size : common 7-15 cm (max. 18 cm). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Lagocephalus spadiceus: small spinules on the dorsal surface, not extending posteriorly beyond the pectoral fin margin. Torquigener flavimaculosus: round caudal fin. Sphoeroides pachygaster: smooth skin. Chilomycterus spilostylus: three rooted spines, fixed in erected position. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Like other members of the family, capable when threatened to inflating its body by engulfing water or air (when taken out from the water). Feeds on benthic invertebrates. Spawning season in the summer. Eggs and larvae planktonic. habitat : benthic sandy and muddy to 40 m.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Lebanon, 1977. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Red Sea endemic. Mediterranean : recorded first from Lebanon, misidentified as L. sceleratus (sic) (Mouneimne, 1977) ; later recorded in the Mediterranean from Israel (Golani, 1996). Recorded in Rhodes, and recently recorded along the coasts of eastern Libya. ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Very common. speculated reasons for success : unknown. MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS Caught as by-catch in shallow water trawl. No commercial value. Some internal organs are toxic.

KEY REFERENCES Golani D., 1996. The marine ichthyofauna of the eastern Levant - history, inventory and characterization. Israel Journal of Zoology, 42: 15-55. Mouneimne N., 1977. Liste des poissons de la côte du Liban (Méditerranée orientale). Cybium, 1: 37-66. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: November 2013 ©ciesm 2002