Author: (Linnaeus, 1758)
Macroramphosus scolopax (Linnaeus, 1758)
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Macroramphosus scolopax (Linnaeus, 1758) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: body compressed (16.7-36% of SL) with a long tubular snout (28.6-40% of SL), 2 dorsal fins (IV-VIII + 10-14), second spine of first dorsal fin very strong (8.6-38.9% of SL). Colour: larvae and juveniles silvery, the back bluish-black; adults pinkish or reddish on upper sides. Size: to 20 cm; usually 10-14 cm.
Habitat: juveniles to about 10 cm live pelagically in oceanic waters; adults close to bottom (normally in 50-150 m depth). Gregarious. Food: pelagic invertebrates, mainly copepods; also bottom invertebrates for the adults. Reproduction: commonly October-March (subtropical northeastern Atlantic).
Distribution: whole Mediterranean, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, mainly in temperate latitudes between 20° and 40° N.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Fage, 1918: 14-16, fig. 2, 4 | d'Ancona, 1933: 300-306, fig. 244, pl. XVIII (fig. 417) | Marinaro, 1971: 29, pl. 4, fig. 3.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.