Diplodus cervinus

Diplodus cervinus was first formally described in 1838 as Charax cervinus with its type locality given as Madeira.{{cite journal |author=Lowe, R. T. |year=1838 |title=

A synopsis of the fishes of Madeira; with the principal synonyms, Portuguese names, and characters of the new genera and species |journal=Transactions of the Zoological Society of London |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=173–200 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12865691#page/252/mode/1up}} In 1971 a neotype was designated which had been collected by Lowe on Lanzarote in 1859 and had been deposited in the British Museum (Natural History).{{cite journal |author=Bauchot, M.-L. |author2=J. Daget |name-list-style=and |year=1971 |title=

Les Diplodus (Pisces, Sparidae) du groupe cervinus-fasciatus |journal=Cahiers O. R. S. T. O. M. (Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique Outre-Mer) Série Océanographie |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=319–338 |language=Fr |url=https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/cahiers/oceanographie/19609.pdf}} This species was formerly considered to be found off South Africa and in the Indian Ocean but these are now considered to be separate species D. hottentotus and D. omanensis,.{{Cof genus|genus=Diplodus|access-date=20 January 2023}} The species complex of D. cervinus sensu lato forms a clade within Diplodus with the banded seabream (D. fasciatus).{{Cite journal |author=M. Summerer |author2=R. Hanel |author3=C. Sturmbauer |title=Mitochondrial phylogeny and biogeographic affinities of sea breams of the genus Diplodus (Sparidae) |journal=Journal of Fish Biology |date=2001 |volume=59 |issue=6 |pages=1638–1652 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8649.2001.tb00227.x}} The population in the southeastern Atlantic off southern Angola and Namibia is of uncertain taxonomy.{{cite thesis |last=Winkler |first=Alexander Claus |date=2013 |title=Taxonomy and life history of the Zebra seabream, Diplodus cervinus (Perciformes:Sparidae), in Southern Angola |degree=MSc |publisher=Rhodes University}} The genus Diplodus is placed in the family Sparidae within the order Spariformes by the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.{{cite book |author1=Nelson, J.S. |author1-link=Joseph S. Nelson |author2=Grande, T.C. |author3=Wilson, M.V.H. |year=2016 |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |place=Hoboken, NJ |pages=502–506 |isbn=978-1-118-34233-6 |lccn=2015037522 |oclc=951899884 |ol=25909650M |doi=10.1002/9781119174844}} Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Sparinae,{{cite journal |author= Parenti, P. |year=2019 |title=An annotated checklist of the fishes of the family Sparidae |journal=FishTaxa |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=47–98 |url= https://fishtaxa.com/menuscript/index.php/ft/article/view/49/52}} but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.

Diplodus cervinus has the specific name cervinus which means "deer" which comes from the Portuguese name for this species on Madeira, where Lowe collected the type, sargo veado which translates as "deer sea bream".{{cite web |url=https://etyfish.org/spariformes/ |title=Order SPARIFORMES: Families LETHRINIDAE, NEMIPTERIDAE and SPARIDAE |work=The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database |access-date=20 January 2024 |date=22 December 2023 |publisher=Christopher Scharpf |archive-date=30 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030165034/https://etyfish.org/spariformes/ |url-status=dead }}

Diplodus cervinushas an oval shaped body which is deep and compressed with a moderately sharp snout and a thick lipped slightly protrusible mouth. There are between 10 and 12 incisor-like teeth in the front of the upper jaw with 8 in the lower jaw. Behind these there are between 1 and 3, typically 2, rows of molar-like teeth. The dorsal fin is supported by 11 or 12 spines, increasing in height until the fourth spine, and between 11 and 14 soft rays. The anal fin has 3 spines and between 10 and 12 soft rays supporting it. The tail is forked.{{cite book |author=Kent E. Carpenter |author-link=Kent E. Carpenter |chapter=Sparidae |pages=2567–2620 |editor1=Carpenter, K.E. |editor2=De Angelis, N.|name-list-style=and |year=2016 |title=The living marine resources of the Eastern Central Atlantic Volume 2 Bony fishes part 2 (Perciformes to Tetradontiformes) and Sea turtles |series=FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes |location=Rome |publisher=FAO |url=https://www.fao.org/3/i5715e/i5715e.pdf |isbn=978-92-5-109267-5}} The background colour is silvery or golden grey with 5 thick dark vertical bars on the upper body and flanks, a dark area around the eyes and cheeks, dark tip to the snout and a small dark spot at the upper part of the base of the pectoral fin. The pelvic fins are dark with the other fins being greyish, becoming darker towards their margins.{{cite web |url=https://fishes-fnam.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/linnaeus_ng/app/views/species/taxon.php?id=109662&cat=271&epi=141|title=Diplodus cervinus |access-date=20 January 2024 |author=J-C Hureau |work=Fishes of the Northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean |publisher=Naturalis Biodiversity Center}} The annular seabream has a maximum published total length of {{cvt|55|cm}}, although {{cvt|35|cm}} is more typical, and a maximum published weight of {{cvt|2.7|kg}}.

Diplodus cervinus is found in the eastern AtlanticOcean from the Bay of Biscay to Mauretania, including the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Cape Verde Islands, into the Mediterranean Sea but not the Black Sea. This is a benthopelagic species, found at depths between {{cvt|30|and|80|m}} over rocky substrates but over sand substrates it can be found down to {{cvt|300|m}}.

Diplodus cervinus is an omnivorous fish which feeds on small invertebrates and seaweeds. The zebra seabream is a protogynous hermaphrodite, in which the males usually reach sexual maturity at a total length of around {{cvt|32.7|cm}} when they are five years old while the females attain sexual maturity at a total length of around {{cvt|27|cm}} and four years old. Spawning runs from spring to summer, with a peak in May and June. The young fish are recruited into the population in October up to January. These young fish occur at depths between {{cvt|0.5|and|8|m}}. The juveniles are found in schools in well vegetated rocky areas. Adults form schools of three to eight individuals in the spawning season, these consist of a single dominant male and a number of females.

Diplodus cervinus has many threats to its population. One of the threats is being overfished. The abundance has been reduced by 85% of the unexploited equilibrium level.{{cite journal |author=Pajuelo, J.G. |author2=Lorenzo, M.J. |author3=Dominguez-Seoane, R. |name-list-style=and |year=2003 |title=Age estimation and growth of the zebra seabream Diplodus cervinus cervinus (Lowe 1838) on the Canary Islands shelf (Central East Atlantic) |journal=Fisheries Research |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=97–103|doi=10.1016/S0165-7836(02)00249-7 }}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=236470 WORMS]
• [http://www.fishbase.org/summary/2497 Fishbase]
• {{sealifephotos|127051}}

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cervinus

Category:Fish of the East Atlantic

Category:Fish of the Mediterranean Sea

Category:Marine fish of North Africa

Category:Marine fish of West Africa

Category:Marine fish of Southern Africa

Category:Fish described in 1838

Category:Taxa named by Richard Thomas Lowe