Author: (Steindachner, 1868)
Trachurus mediterraneus (Steindachner, 1868)
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Trachurus mediterraneus (Steindachner, 1868) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: dorsal accessory lateral line terminating below eighth spine to soft dorsal ray 3. Gillrakers (including rudiments) 36-41 on lower limb of first gill arch. Shoulder girdle (cleithrum) margin smooth, without papillae. Dorsal fin VIII + I + 29-35; anal fin 11 + I + 26-39; distance between ultimate and penultimate rays of anal fin no more than 1.5 times distance between preceding rays. Scales in curved lateral line 39-18, expanded dorsolaterally and scute-like (maximum height of scales 3.3-4.3% of SL); in straight lateral line 35-44 scutes; total scales and scutes 75-89. Colour: small black opercular spot on edge near upper angle; upper part of body and head nearly black to grey or bluish green; lower two-thirds of body and head usually paler, whitish to silvery. Size: to at least 50 cm fork length.
Habitat: usually near bottom in 40-500 m, at times also in surface waters; pelagic and migratory in large schools. Food: other fishes (especially sardines, anchovies, etc.) and small crustaceans. Reproduction: see family.
Distribution: Bay of Biscay, Portugal and Morocco, Mediterranean (common). The subspecies T. mediterraneus ponticus occurs in the Marmora and Black Seas, and southern and western parts of the Azov Sea.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Sanzo, 1932: 73 | Padoa, 1956: 553 | Demir, 1958: 85-92; 1958: 93-102 | Bini, 1968, 5: 50, 3 fig. | Pora et al., 1959: 87-110, pl. 1-2 | Banarescu, 1964: 735, fig. 321.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.