Author: (T. E. Bowdich, 1825)
Trachurus picturatus (T. E. Bowdich, 1825)
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Trachurus picturatus (Bowdich, 1825) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: dorsal accessory lateral line terminating below soft dorsal rays 5-10. Gillrakers (including rudiments) 41-44 on lower limb of first gill arch. Shoulder girdle (cleithrum) margin smooth, without papillae. Dorsal fin VIII + I + 30-35; anal fin II + I + 27-30; in adults, distance between ultimate and penultimate rays of anal fin more than 1.7 times distance of preceding rays. Scales in curved lateral line 52-58, expanded dorsolaterally and scute-like (maximum height of scales 3.6-5.1% of SL); in straight lateral line 39-46 scutes; total scales and scutes 93-100. Colour: small, black opercular spot on edge near upper angle; upper part of body and head dusky to grey or bluish-green; lower twothirds of body and head usually paler, whitish to silvery. Size: reported to attain at least 60 cm fork length.
Habitat: a pelagic demersal species ranging to at least 370 m; often confined to neritic zones of island shelves, banks and sea mounts; a schooling species. Food: primarily crustaceans. Reproduction: see family.
Distribution: between southern Bay of Biscay and Mauritania and the Azores, the Canaries and Madeira; western part of Mediterranean.Records of this species from the south-eastern Atlantic are based on misidentifications of Trachurus longimanus (Norman), previously considered a junior synonym of T. picturatus; see Collette and Parin (1991) for discussion.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.