Ballan wrasse

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Ballan wrasse

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Labriformes
Family: Labridae
Genus: Labrus
Species:
L. bergylta
Binomial name
Labrus bergylta
Ascanius, 1767
Synonyms[2]
  • Labrus comber Bonnaterre, 1788
  • Labrus ballan Bonnaterre, 1788
  • Labrus maculatus Bloch, 1792
  • Labrus neustriae Lacépède, 1801
  • Labrus balanus J. Fleming, 1828
  • Labrus variabilis W. Thompson, 1837
  • Crenilabrus multidentatus W. Thompson, 1837
  • Labrus reticulatus R. T. Lowe, 1839
  • Labrus donovani Valenciennes, 1839
  • Labrus nubilus Valenciennes, 1843

The ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) is a species of marine

protogynous hermaphrodite—all fish start life as females, and some dominant fish later become males. It is used as a food fish in some areas and it is also finding use as a cleaner fish in the aquaculture of Atlantic salmon
(Salmo salar) in northwestern Europe.

Description

The ballan wrasse is a large, heavy bodied wrasse with a relatively deep body and large head. It has a smallish mouth which is surrounded by thick, fleshy, rather wrinkled lips, and the jaws are armed with a single row of robust teeth which are sharp and pointed in young fish but blunter and more worn in older fish. It has a long

anal fin is markedly shorter and has three spines. It has large scales with 41–47 of them in the lateral line. The juvenile fish are coloured to match their habitat and vary in from light green to dark green,[3] with some being described as bright emerald green.[4] The adults are more variable in colour, as they can either be dark green or reddish brown but are marked all over with numerous white spots.[3] It can grow to 65.9 cm (25.9 in) in total length (though most do not exceed 50 cm (20 in) standard length), and the greatest recorded weight of this species is 4.4 kg (9.7 lb). Ballan wrasses are protogynous hermaphrodites.[2]

Ballan wrasse are classic labriform swimmers,[5] primarily swimming with their pectoral fins and utilising burst and glide swimming strategies for greater speed,[6] though they struggle with sustained swimming.[6]

Distribution

Ballan wrasse are native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean from Norway to Morocco, including the islands of Madeira, the Azores and the Canary Islands. There are records from the Mediterranean Sea but these are regarded as questionable[1] and may be misidentifications of the brown wrasse (Labrus merula).[2]

Habitat and biology

They can be found at depths from 1 to 50 m (3.3 to 164.0 ft) amongst rocks,

pelagic larvae after a week or two.[1]

Ballan wrasse do not have stomachs.[8]

Human usage

Fishery and Sport

This species is popular as a food fish in the

sport fishermen using light fishing tackle, particularly those employing soft plastic lures.[10][7]

Aquaculture

This fish is one of 5 key species used as cleaner fish to remove

lumpfish, this species is farmed for this purpose[13] as there were concerns regarding overharvest of wild populations.[15]

As with many farmed marine species, commercial larval rearing utilises live prey before transitioning to dry feeds after metamorphosis is complete.[8] The majority of the industry currently uses enriched rotifers and Artemia, but copepod nauplii (Acartia tonsa) and barnacle nauplii (Semibalanus balanoides) are becoming more common as alternatives.[8][16]

This species can also be found in the aquarium trade.[2]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T187398A8525211.en
    . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2006). "Labrus bergylta" in FishBase. April 2006 version.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-1855853645
    .
  4. ^ O. E. D. Ager (2008). H. Tyler-Walters; K. Hiscock (eds.). "Ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta)". Marine Life Information Network. Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  5. ISSN 1573-5133
    .
  6. ^
    ISSN 0022-1112
    .
  7. ^ a b c "Wrasse". BritishSeaFishing. 23 November 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  8. ^
    PMID 27422903
    .
  9. ISBN 0-670-51524-8
  10. ISBN 0-907151-34-5
  11. ^ "New approach to combating sea lice: Wrasse to the rescue". The Research Council of Norway. 2010-04-23 – via ScienceDaily.
  12. ^ "Western Isles salmon farm in wrasse 'first'". BBC News. 2012-10-09.
  13. ^
    hdl:1893/27595
    .
  14. ^ "Akvakulturstatistikk: rensefisk". Fiskeridirektoratet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  15. ISSN 1745-1000
    .
  16. hdl:11250/3051863
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ballan_wrasse&oldid=1208843534"