Author: Rafinesque, 1810
Spicara flexuosa Rafinesque, 1810
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Spicara maena (Linnaeus, 1758) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: dorsal finrays XI + 10-12, edge more or less convex in spiny part; anal finrays III + 9-10. Lateral line scales 68-73. Colour: clear yellowish or grey-brownish. Dorsal fin dark distally; anterior part black. Size: to 18 cm (females) or 21 cm (males) SL.
Habitat: on sand or muddy bottoms, down to about 130 m. Food: no data. Reproduction: from March to May; demersal eggs.
Distribution: Mediterranean, Black Sea and off Portugal.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Planas and Vives, 1955: 117-132. See the above comments to the genus.
Otoliths (sagitta). Chaine, 1937: 224, pl. 20.