Author: (Malm, 1865)
Pomatoschistus pictus (Malm, 1865)
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Pomatoschistus pictus (Malm, 1865) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: lateral line system with sub-orbital row a having 1 transverse row; row b ending anteriorly below rear edge of eye; transverse rows below level of row b not descending through row d; head canals with pore ~d and pore o. Eyes dorsolateral. Branchiostegal membrane attached to entire side of isthmus. Predorsal area and breast naked. Pelvic disc anterior membrane with more or less straight rear edge. Caudal fin rounded. Dl VI (V-VI); D2 I + 9 (7-10); A I + 8-9; P 18-19 (16-20). Scales in lateral series 34-43. Vertebrae 30 (30-31). Colour: fawn to yellowish-olive, with coarse dark reticulation, 4 pale saddles across back and 4 'double spots' along lateral midline; first and second dorsal fins in both sexes with at least 1 row of large dark spots, surmounted by oblique rosy bands. Size: to 5.7 cm.
Habitat: inshore gravel and sand, to 50-55 m; young may occur in shore pools. Food: small crustaceans (copepods and amphipods). Reproduction: February-June (Connemara), March-July (Isle of Man). Eggs 0.8 x 0.65 mm, on underside of empty valves of Pecten, Glycimeris, etc., hatching at 2.7-3.0 mm, in 11-12 days at 13-14°C. Fecundity 311-1, 544 at 2.65-4.2 cm. Sexually mature by 1 year. Lifespan: 2 (rarely 3) years.
Distribution: eastern Atlantic (Trondheimfjord to northern Spain) and Mediterranean (Adriatic and Sea of Marmara).
Subspecies:
Pomatoschistus pictus pictus: eastern Atlantic; second dorsal fin with complete row of black spots and posterior part of second, upper, row; scales in lateral series 36-43; anal branched rays 9 (8-10).
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Petersen, 1919: 51, 57, pl. I (fig. 11-15), pl. II (fig. 7-9), pl. III (fig. 3) | Lebour, 1919: 60, 79, pl. I (fig. 45), pl. II (fig. 1);1920: 258, pl. III | Künne, 1934: 350, fig. 2-3.
Otoliths (sagitta). Miller, 1973a: in press.
Pomatoschistus pictus adriaticus Miller, 1972; Mediterranean; second dorsal fin with 2 complete rows of black spots; scales in lateral series 34-40; anal branched rays 8 or 9.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). Miller, 1973a: in press.