Author: Bleeker, 1863
Pseudotolithus typus Bleeker, 1863
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Pseudotolithus typus Bleeker, 1863 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: body very long and rounded in cross-section; head long and clearly concave on nape; inter-orbital space very narrow, less than eye. Mouth large, strongly oblique, lower jaw distinctly projecting; a pair of sharp canines near tip of upper jaw. Dl IX; D2 I + 28-32, A II + 7-8. Caudal fin pointed. Anterior end of the swimbladder with a pair of complicated tube-like appendages, divided into a group of a few short tubes anteriorly and a group of numerous long tubules running backward along ventral and lateral sides of bladder up to base of anal fin. Scales ctenoid, except on top of head and in sub-orbital region, where they are cycloid. Colour: silvery grey, often with faint dark lines following oblique scale rows on back and upper sides; inside of gill cover black; pectoral, anal and pelvic fins yellowish, caudal dark grey. Size: to 100 cm SL, common to 50 cm.
Habitat: coastal waters from shoreline to about 150 m depth, over mud and sandy mud bottoms, uncommon in rocky areas; juveniles and sub-adults enter estuaries and rivers. Loose aggregations may be formed by similar sized fish. Food: principally small fishes and crustaceans. Reproduction: peak spawning season from late spring to early autumn in tropical West Africa.
Distribution: eastern Atlantic; doubtful record from Casablanca. Elsewhere, principally along the west coast of tropical Africa, from Senegal to Angola, becoming scarce north of the Cape Verde Is.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Ovarian eggs, Collignon, 1960 | Longhurst, 1964a.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.