Relevant synonyms None Misidentification None Meristic formula D, XII-XIII + 8-11; A, III + 9-11; P, 14-15; V, I + 5; LL, 66-75; GR, 39-45  photo : David Darom

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body oblong and moderately compressed. Dorsal fin continuous, the spinous part arched and its membrane slightly incised. Caudal fin truncated. Pelvic fin origin slightly beyond pectoral fin base. Mouth terminal, jaws extending back to the vertical line of posterior nostril. Upper jaw with three bands of teeth and two bands in the lower jaw. No vomerine or palatine teeth. Preopercular angular and serrated. Two spines on the operculum at eye level, the lower stronger and longer but not extending beyond opercular edge. color : a yellowish, silver-grey background with 4-7 longitudinal black thin stripes running to caudal fin base. size : common 7-15 cm (max. 22 cm). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Terapon puta: longitudinal stripes extend to caudal fin. Lower opercular spine extending to or beyond operculum edge. Pomadasys stridens: two pores and a median pit on the chin. Other families: lack of two spines on the operculum (three spines in Serranidae); lack of longitudinal dark stripes (young specimens of Epinephelus costea have brown longtitudal stripes). BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Feeds on small invertebrates. Spawning season in the summer. habitat : coastal water to depth of 20 m. Also penetrates estuaries.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Bardawil lagoon, northern Sinai, Egypt, 1977. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : wide Indo-Pacific. Red Sea to South Africa, to Japan and northern Australia. Mediterranean : recorded first in Bardawil lagoon, northern Sinai, Egypt (Ben-Tuvia, 1977) ; successively recorded in Lebanon (Mouneimne, 1977), Iskenderun, Turkey (Mater and Kaya, 1987) and Egypt (El-Sayed, 1994). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Relatively rare in the Mediterranean. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS Rarely caught in trammel nets. No commercial value.

KEY REFERENCES Ben-Tuvia A., 1977. New records of Red Sea immigrants in the eastern Mediterranean. Cybium, 3: 95-102. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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