Author: (Forsskål, 1775).
Sargocentron rubrum (Forsskål, 1775).
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Sargocentron rubrum (Forsskål, 1775) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: a strong preopercular and two smaller opercular spines. Gillrakers 6-7 + 10-12. D XI + 12-14 (usually 13); A IV + 8-9 (usually 9). Scales large and spiny, 34-39 in lateral line, 3/6.5 in transversal line. Colour: in fresh specimens body and fins red; in fresh and preserved specimens 7-9 dark longitudinal stripes and edge of spiny dorsal and caudal fins blackish. Size: to 22 cm SL, usually 13-21 cm.
Habitat: inshore waters, mostly on rocky grounds at 10-50 m depth. Food: feeds at night on invertebrates, mostly benthic decapods, exceptionally on small fish. Reproduction: June-August (Golani and BenTuvia, in press).
Distribution: eastern Mediterranean, known from Turkey (Izmir), Greece, Lebanon, Israel. A Suez Canal immigrant, distributed widely in Indo-Pacific, from Red Sea to Japan, Indonesia, Australia and Samoa.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.