Relevant synonyms None Misidentification None Meristic formula D, XI-XII+9-11; A, III+7-10; P, ; V, I+5; LL, 75-100  photo : Daniel Golani

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body oblong and slightly compressed. Blunt snout. Mouth slightly slanted. Jaws reaching back to vertical of center eye. Bands of villiform teeth with elongated teeth in the outer rows. Large eye and wide interorbital distance. Preoperculum strongly serrated. Two flat opercular spines. Large serrated clithrum bone located under pectoral fin base. Dorsal fin with deep notch between the spines and rays portion. The first two dorsal fin spine are small the 3rd to 5th are the longest. Caudal fin forked. Anal fin opposite the ray portion of dorsal fin. Body covered with small ctenoid scales. color : body silvery with four longitudinal stripes. The upper three are black and curved downward. The lower stripe is almost straight and fait yellow. Large black spot on the upper dorsal spine between 3rd to 6th spines and two black spots on the soft rays portion of dorsal fin. Four stripes on the caudal fin lobs. Pelvic and anal fins are white with a touch of yellow. size : common 6-25 cm (max. 33 cm). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Palates qudrilineatus: no stripes on caudal fin. Terapon puta and T. theraps: the longitudinal stripes are straight. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Feeds on fish and benthic invertebrates. Eggs and larvae planktonic. habitat : coastal sandy soft substrate in coastal waters. As a euryhaline species it also inhabits brackish water.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Israel, 2009. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Indo-Pacific. Mediterranean : a single specimen was recorded from Israel. ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Very rare. speculated reasons for success : MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None in the Mediterranean but a commercial species in some countries in its original distribution.

KEY REFERENCES Golani D. and Golani Appelbaum B., 2010. First record of the Indo-Pacific fish the Jarbua terapon (Terapon jarbua) (Osteichthyes: Terapontidae) in the Mediterranean with remarks on the wide geographical distribution of this species. Scientia Marina, 74(4): 717-720. Vari R.P., 1984. Teraponidae. In: Fischer W. and Bianchi G. FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Western Indian Ocean (Fishing Area 51). Vol. IV. FAO, Rome. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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