Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Sparidae (Porgies)
Etymology: Lithognathus: Greek, lithos = stone + Greek, gnathos = jaw (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range 0 - 150 m (Ref. 3688), usually 10 - 20 m (Ref. 37413). Subtropical; 48°N - 35°S, 25°W - 36°E
Eastern Atlantic: Bay of Biscay, Strait of Gibraltar and Mediterranean; southward to Cape of Good Hope, South Africa; around the Canary and Cape Verde Islands (Ref. 3688); and Madeira Is (Ref. 74541). Western Indian Ocean: southern Mozambique (Ref. 3688). Not found in tropical east Africa (Ref. 3198), Red Sea (Ref. 84159) and Black Sea (Ref. 4781, 112870).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 17.4, range 20 - ? cm
Max length : 55.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3397); common length : 30.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3688); max. reported age: 12 years (Ref. 13716)
Found on the shelf, over sandy and muddy bottoms as well as seagrass-beds and estuaries. Gregarious, sometimes forming sizeable schools. Feeds on worms, mollusks and small crustaceans. Protandric hermaphrodite (Ref. 3688). Flesh excellent (Ref. 3198); sold fresh and dried.
A monandric species (Ref. 55367). In the northern Adriatic, overall male to female ratio was 1:1.62. Sex inversion occurred mainly between 24.1 and 35.2 cm TL and 3.5 years of age (Ref. 55367). Conflicting descriptions of the reproductive style of this species have been reported, including possible gonochorism (Ref. 103751). Also Ref. 28504.
Bauchot, M.-L. and J.-C. Hureau, 1990. Sparidae. p. 790-812. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 3688)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
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