Author: Valenciennes, 1833
Scorpaena maderensis Valenciennes, 1833
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Scorpaena maderensis Valenciennes, 1833 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: head large; snout as long as orbit diameter, 10% of SL; preorbital bone with 2 large spines over maxilla; sub-orbitals with 2 spinous points; upper post-temporal spine present; first preopercular spine short, second more slender than third; cleithrum with 2 spines; other spines as for the genus. Occipital pit absent. Pores at symphysis of lower jaw separate and small. Supraocular tentacle short, less than half of orbit diameter; a few tentacles on lower preopercular spines, on eye, on some lateral line scales and on some body scales. Dorsal fin with 12 spines and 9 soft rays; pectoral fin with 15-16 rays and not reaching first anal spine. Slightly ctenoid scales on sides of body; 52-56 vertical rows of scales; chest and pectoral fin base with mostly cycloid scales; most of head naked. Vertebrae 24. Gillrakers 15-18, 5 on upper arch. Colour: variable, head brown, mottled with white; body dark with some pale areas; dorsal fin blotched with brown pigment; pectoral fin with elongate dark spots; other fins with brown and white spots. Size: to 15 cm, usually to 10 cm.
Habitat: benthic inshore species between 20 and 40 m. Food: crustaceans and small fishes. Reproduction: no data.
Distribution: in the eastern Atlantic known from Madeira, the Azores, the Canaries and Cape Verde Is.; rare along the coasts of Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal; in Mediterranean, known from several localities (south-eastern coast of Spain, Strait of Messina, Siracuse, coast of Lebanon).
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). Jaquet, 1907: 40, fig. 32 I-K.