Author: Linnaeus, 1758
Stromateus fiatola Linnaeus, 1758
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Stromateus fiatola Linnaeus, 1758 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: deep compressed body. Dorsal finrays 42-50; anal finrays 33-38, pectoral finrays 21-25. Single dorsal fin similar in shape to but a little longer than anal fin, broad forked caudal fin; pelvic fins absent in specimens greater than 10 cm long. Vertebrae 43-45. Colour: bluish with spots on the back, silver to whitish below; specimens smaller than 10 cm with dark vertical bars. Size: to about 50 cm SL.
Habitat: near the bottom over continental shelves from 12 to 50 m depth. Generally in small schools; young associate with pelagic medusae. Food: small fishes and zooplankton, also medusae. Reproduction: no data.
Distribution: Mediterranean (not Adriatic or Aegean); Atlantic coasts from Bay of Biscay (rare) southward. Elsewhere, southward to Cape Town.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Padoa, 1937: pl. 37 (fig. 1-2).
Otoliths (sagitta). Sanz EcheverrÃa, 1949: 152, pl. 6 (fig. 1-10) | Schmidt, 1968: 52, fig. 142, pl. 22.