Relevant synonyms Monacanthus setifer Stephanolepis ocheticus Stephanolepis weberi Misidentification None Meristic formula D1, I; D2, 30-33; A, 30-33; P, 13-14  photo : David Darom

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body deep and compressed. First dorsal fin consists of a single strong spine with barbs on the posterior edge, originating above posterior margin of eye. Second dorsal fin and anal fin opposite. Second dorsal ray often filamentous. Caudal fin rounded. Pelvic fin absent, but replaced by rudimentary skin. Pointed snout slightly concave dorsally. Small terminal mouth with incisor teeth. Gill opening slit-like, above pectoral fin base. Body covered with rough shaygreen-like skin composed of very small scales with delicate spinules. The caudal peduncle of the male may consist of a series of horny patches in several raws. color : body brown to olive green-grey. Dorsal and anal fin yellow to orange. size : common 7-15 cm (max. 20 cm). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Balistes carolinensis: three dorsal spines. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Lives in small groups. Feeds on small invertebrates plucked from rocks. Eggs and larvae planktonic. Young individuals feed also in open water on sandy and muddy substrate. habitat : coastal rocky substrate, usually with vegetation.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Palestine, 1927. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Red Sea to the Arabian Gulf. Mediterranean : recorded first from Palestine (Steinitz, 1927) ; successive records from Syria (Gruvel, 1929); Cyprus (Hornell, 1935); Rhodes (Tortonese, 1946); Gulf of Gabes, Tunisia (Chakroun, 1966); Gulf of Taranto, Italy (Tortonese, 1967); Crete (Economidis and Bauchot, 1976); Saronikos Gulf (Papaconstantinou, 1987); Gulf of Palermo, Sicily (Catalano and Zava, 1993). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Very common. speculated reasons for success : unknown. MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS No commercial value.

KEY REFERENCES Catalano E. and Zava B., 1993. Sulla presenza di Stephanolepis diaspros Fr. Brunn. Nelle Acque Italiane (Osteichthyes, Monacanthidae). Supplemento alle Ricerche di Biologia della selvaggina, 21: 379-382. Chakroun F., 1966. Captures d'animaux rares en Tunisie. Bulletin de l'Institut National Scientifique et Technique d'Océanographie et de Pêche de Salammbô, 1(2): 75-79. Steinitz W., 1927. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Küstenfauna Palästinas. I. Pubblicazioni della Stazione Zoologica di Napoli, 8(3-4): 311-353. Tortonese E., 1967. Un pesce plettognato nuovo per i Mari Italiani: Stephanolepis diaspros, Fraser Brunner. Doriana, suppl., Annali del Museo civico di storia naturale di Genova, 4 (181): 1-4. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: June 2004 ©ciesm 2002