spotted seabass
{{Short description|Species of ray-finned fish}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Dicentrarchus punctatus.jpg
| image_caption =
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon = Dicentrarchus punctatus
| authority = (Bloch, 1792)
| synonyms = {{Specieslist
| Sciaena punctata | Bloch, 1792
| Bodianus punctatus | (Bloch, 1792)
| Labrax lupus punctatus | (Bloch, 1792)
| Labrax punctatus | (Bloch, 1792)
| Morone punctatus | (Bloch, 1792)
| Perca punctata | (Bloch, 1792)
| Perca punctulata | Lacépède, 1802
| Labrax orientalis | Günther, 1863
| Dicentrarchus orientalis | (Günther, 1863)
| Labrax schoenleinii | W. K. H. Peters, 1865
}}
}}
The spotted seabass (Dicentrarchus punctatus) is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Moronidae, the temperate basses. This species is found in the marine and brackish waters of the coastal eastern Atlantic Ocean from the English Channel to the Canary Islands and Senegal, as well as through the Mediterranean Sea.
Taxonomy
The spotted seabass was first formally described as Sciaena punctata in 1792 by the German physician and naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch with its type locality given as the Mediterranean Sea.{{Cof genus|genus=Dicentrarchus|access-date=28 March 2023}} This is one of two species in the genus Dicentrarchus, the other being the European seabass (D. labrax),{{Cof genus|genus=Dicentrarchus|access-date=28 March 2023}} and this genus and the genus Morone make up the family Moronidae, the temperate basses.{{Cof family|family=Moronidae|access-date=28 March 2023}}
Habitat
The spotted seabass generally lives in brackish water at depths below approximately {{cvt|30|m}}.{{FishBase|Dicentrarchus|punctatus|month=February|year=2023}} It generally lives in subtropical waters, ranging from the coast of Brittany in the north to the coast of Africa and the Canary Islands in the south and also encompassing almost all of the coastline of the eastern Mediterranean Sea and going as far west as the Azores.
Description
The spotted seabass can grow up to a size of about {{cvt|70|cm}}; however, it usually only reaches a size of about {{cvt|30|cm}}. It is a silver-grey fish covered in black spots and also has a blue back whilst alive.{{cite web | url = https://fishes-fnam.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/linnaeus_ng/app/views/species/taxon.php?id=109616&cat=271&epi=141 | author = J-C Hureau | work = Fishes of the Northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean | title = Dicentrarchus labrax | access-date= 28 March 2023 | publisher = Naturalis Biodiversity Center}} These black spots are only found on the adults; as well, the opercle has a rather large black spot.
Biology
The spotted seabass is almost exclusively carnivorous. Its diet is largely composed of shrimp and molluscs; additionally, it at times eats smaller fish than itself. The spotted seabass breeds at various times based on geography; in the Mediterranean it generally spawns from January until March whereas in the English Channel and other northern areas this range is from March until May.{{Wikispecies}}
Utilisation
The spotted seabass is regarded as a highly palatable fish and is commercially harvested using bottom trawls, beach seines, trammel nets and by hook-and-line. It is also a popular as a game fish for angling in the Eastern Central Atlantic. This fish is used for aquaculture frequently being cultured in ponds. The flesh is sold either fresh or frozen.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q302464}}
Category:Fish of the East Atlantic
Category:Fish of the Mediterranean Sea