Relevant synonyms Rhonciscus stridens Misidentification None Meristic formula D, XII + 13-16; A, III + 8-9; P, 16-28; V, I + 5; LL, 57-60; GR, 21-24  photo : David Darom

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body oblong and compressed. Dorsal fin deeply notched its origin on vertical line of pectoral fin base. Penultimate dorsal spine much smaller than ultimate. Second anal spine larger and thicker than first and third spines. Caudal fin moderately forked. Round head, convex dorsally. Small mouth. Maxilla slipping under the preorbital bone when mouth closed. Supramaxilla absent. Jaws with bands of villiform teeth. Two pores and a median pit on the chin. Small ctenoid scales. color : body - yellowish silvery-grey with white belly. Three longitudinal brown yellow-gold stripes. Black spot on the upper margin of operculum. size : common 7-12 cm (max. 16 cm). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Pomadasys incisus: no longitudinal stripes. Teraponidae: no pores or pits on the chin. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Feeds on benthic invertebrates and small fishes. Eggs and larvae planktonic. Produces clicking sounds upon capture by grinding the pharyngeal teeth, the swim bladder acting as a resonating chamber. habitat : coastal waters.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Gulf of Genoa, Italy, 1969. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Red Sea, east Africa to Mozambique to the Arabian Gulf. Mediterranean : a first record (Torchio, 1969) in Gulf of Genoa, Italy ; a second record (Ben-Tuvia, 1976) in Bardawil Lagoon, Northern Sinai, Egypt ; later record in Lebanon (Mouneimne, 1977) and more recently Adana (Turkey). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Rare in the Mediterranean ; very common on sandy shores in the Red Sea (Golani, 1993c). speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS No commercial importance.

KEY REFERENCES Ben-Tuvia A., 1976. Occurrence of Red Sea fishes Herklotsichthys punctatus, Autisthes puta and Rhonciscus stridens in the eastern Mediterranean. Israel Journal of Zoology, 25: 212-213. Golani D., 1993. The sandy shore of the Red Sea - launching pad for Lessepsian (Suez Canal) migrant fish of the eastern Mediterranean. Journal of Biogeography, 20: 579-585. Torchio M., 1969. Minacce per l'ittiofauna Mediterranea: le forme esotiche. Atti della Società Italiana della Scienze Naturali, 109 (1): 91-96. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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