Author: (Forsskål, 1775)
Pomadasys stridens (Forsskål, 1775)
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Pomadasys stridens (Forsskål, 1775) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: head large, 2.8-3.4 in standard length, about the same as depth of body. Mouth small, slightly oblique. Snout longer than eye diameter. Two pores on the tip of chin and a short pit-like groove behind. Gillrakers 15-16 on lower arm. Dorsal fin deeply notched, with 12 spines and 13-14 rays; anal fin with 3 spines and 8-10 rays. Scales small, covering head except for snout, 54 -61 in lateral line, 9-10 (1) 23-26 in transversal line. Colour: silvery with 3 golden brown longitudinal stripes on the upper half of the body; a conspicuous dark blotch usually present on the upper corner of opercle. Size: to 15 cm SL, usually 10 cm.
Habitat: sandy and muddy bottoms, from shallows to depth of 55 m. Food: small bottom invertebrates. Reproduction: summer months.
Distribution: Mediterranean: coasts of Israel and Lebanon; one specimen caught in Ligurian Sea. Evidently a Suez Canal immigrant. Elsewhere, Red Sea and western Indian Ocean.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.