Relevant synonyms None Misidentification None Meristic formula D, 30-32; A, 20-23; P, 19; V, I+5  photo : B. Zava

SHORT DESCRIPTION Deep body, compressed and slightly elongated, its depth less than 40% of its SL. Large mouth with lower jaw slightly projected. Jaws extend back to the vertical of eye. Head dorsal profile straight. Body covered with large scales, including the head. Midlateral keel of enlarged and fused scales on the caudal peduncle. Long continuous dorsal fin, its anterior part pointed and much longer than its posterior part. Anal fin similar in shape to dorsal fin, its origin below middle of dorsal fin. Caudal fin deeply forked. Pectoral fin long and pointed. Pelvic fin small, originating below or slightly in front of pectoral fin origin. color : The entire dorsal part of the body is black, becoming silvery on the flank and belly. Branchyostegal membrane pinkish. Posterior margin of caudal fin white. size : Common 30-50 cm (max. 89 cm) DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Brama brama – Dorsal profile of head arched and round. All other Mediterranean species – different body shape and color.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Sicily, 2014 DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Circumtropical: Eastern Central Pacific from Costa Rica to Peru. Eastern Atlantic: off west Africa. Western Atlantic: Gulf of Mexico, Trinidad. Not known from the Indian Ocean. Recently reported in Aden Gulf, Arabian Sea. Mediterranean: Ragusa, Sicily, Southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Fiorentino et al 2016) ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Not established MODE OF INTRODUCTION Range expansion through Gibraltar IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None in the Mediterranean but commercial species throughout its range

KEY REFERENCES Fioretino, F., Massi, D. and Zava, B. 2016 A new arrival of circumtropical species in the Mediterranean: the Keeltail pomfret Taractes rubescens (Jordan and Evermann, 1887) (Pisces: Bremidae). In: Karachle, P.K., Angelidis, A., Apostolopoulos, G., Ayas, D., Ballesteros, et al. New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (March 2016). Mediterranean Marine Science 17(1) 237-238. Gonzalez-Lorenzo, G., Gonzalez-Jimenez, J.F., Brito, A. and González, J.A. 2013. The family Bramidae (Perciformes) from the Canary Islands (Northeastern Atlantic Ocean), with three new records. Cybiym, 37(4), 295-303. Haedrich, R.L. Bramidae, Pomfrets. In: Carpenter, K.E. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resource of the Eastern Central Atlantic. Vol. 4: 2515-2518. Rome, FAO. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: January 2017 ©ciesm 2002