Author: Bloch, 1792
Sphoeroides spengleri Bloch, 1792
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Sphoeroides spengleri (Bloch, 1785) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: spines present on upper and lower parts of body. Dorsal finrays 8-9; anal finrays 7-8; caudal truncate or slightly rounded. Colour: dark green to yellowish-brown with black spots on dorsal part of body; a row of 12-14 round, black spots on lower side of head and body; 2 dusky bars on caudal. Size: to about 30 cm SL.
Habitat: coral reefs; sandy and grassy bottoms. Food: crustaceans, echinoderms, molluscs, polychaetes and plants (the latter less than 10% of diet). Reproduction: no data.
Distribution: Portugal (rare), Madeira, the Azores. Elsewhere, on both sides of Atlantic Ocean (from Madeira to Angola and from New England to Brazil and Bermuda).
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.