Oblada Cuvier, 1829
Diagnosis: body elongately ovoid; eye large, its diameter twice suborbital depth; snout short; scales on cheeks, anterior margin of preopercle and opercle. Mouth small; in each jaw an outer series of 8-10 frontal incisors (each slightly notched) followed by lateral small conical teeth; inside both jaws, a band of low granular teeth; gillrakers 20 lower, 12 upper. D XI + 13-14; A III + 12-14. Lateral line scales 64-67 to caudal base. Colour: silvery grey, back darker; fine longitudinal dark lines along rows of scales; on caudal peduncle, large black saddle surrounded by a white ring; all fins light. Size: to 30 cm SL, usually 18-20 cm.
Habitat: Iittoral waters above rocky bottoms and Posidonia beds to 30 m. Gregarious. Food: omnivorous (mostly small invertebrates).
Reproduction: April-June (Mediterranean); gonochoric, some individuals hermaphroditic protogynous.
Distribution: common throughout Mediterranean, very rare in Black Sea; Atlantic, from Bay of Biscay to Angola, Madeira, the Can and Cape Verde Is.
Species 1.
Species of this genus in the program:
Oblada melanura