Author: Poey, 1860
Tetrapturus albidus Poey, 1860
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Tetrapturus albidus Poey, 1860 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: body moderately slender, bill long and round in cross-section, nape fairly steep. Pectoral fins long, much greater than post-orbital part of head; pelvic fins about the same length, the finrays fused, membrane moderately developed; anterior lobe of first dorsal fin round, its heighl nearly equal to body depth, with 38-46 finrays, second dorsal fin with 5-6 finrays; first anal fin with 12-17 finrays, second with 5-6 finrays; anus close to origin of first anal fin. Body densely covered with embedded scales, each with a single acute spine. Colour: back blue-green or blue-grey, with more or less distinct vertical lines on flanks. Size: to about 3 m TL.
Habitat: epipelagic, oceanic, usually above the thermocline. Food: generally a wide variety of pelagic fishes, crustaceans, cephalopods, but squids are one of the most important parts of Ihe diet. Reproduction: in subtropical waters, with a peak in early summer; females grow larger, but are otherwise similar to males.
Distribution: warmer parts of Europe, northward to southern Portugal and south-western parts of Mediterranean; elsewhere, southward to southern Africa and in western Atlantic.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. D. P. de Sylva, 1963 | Robins and de Sylva, 1963.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.