Mediterranean horse mackerel

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Mediterranean horse mackerel

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Carangiformes
Family: Carangidae
Genus: Trachurus
Species:
T. mediterraneus
Binomial name
Trachurus mediterraneus
(Steindachner, 1868)
Subspecies

T. m. mediterraneus (Steindachner, 1868)
T. m. ponticus Aleev, 1956

Synonyms

Caranx trachurus mediterraneus Steindachner, 1868
Suareus furnestini Dardignac & Vincent, 1958

The Mediterranean horse mackerel (Trachurus mediterraneus), also known as the Black Sea horse mackerel, horse mackerel, Mediterranean scad, common scad, or simply scad, is a species of

least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature
.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

The Mediterranean horse mackerel was first

herpetologist Franz Steindachner, who gave it the name Caranx trachurus mediterraneus. It was also described two other times, by Y. G. Aleev in 1956 and J. Dardignac and A. Vincent. Its generic name comes from the Greek roots trachys meaning "rough" and oura meaning "tail".[2]

Description

The Mediterranean horse mackerel has an elongated, compressed body (up to 60 cm (24 in) in length, common length 30 cm (12 in)) with a large head and projected lower jaw. The nostrils are small and close-set and the eyes are protected by a well-developed adipose eyelid. Its upper jaw, or maxilla, is also large and wide. Its body is a dusky color, blue to grey to black in color

anal fin is preceded by two separate spines.[3]

Distribution and habitat

Map of the Black Sea region

The Mediterranean horse mackerel is found in

subtropical waters throughout the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the Bay of Biscay to Mauritania, as well as the Mediterranean Sea, the Aegean archipelago, the Black Sea, the Propontis or Sea of Marmara, and the southwestern Sea of Azov. Its latitudinal range extends from 49°N to 28°N and its longitudinal range extends from 13°W to 43°E.[2] The subspecies T. m. mediterraneus is found in the Mediterranean Sea,[4] while the T. m. ponticus subspecies, also called the Black Sea scad, is native to the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the Sea of Azov.[2] T. m. ponticus is found in the territorial waters of every country bordering the Black Sea: Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.[5] Subspecies populations are not isolated and some limited migration between seas occurs. Hybrid offspring have been found in the wild.[4][6] Its typical depth range is 5–250 m (16–820 ft), though it can be found as deep as 500 m (1,600 ft). It lives near the ocean floor, though it sometimes schools near the surface.[2]

Biology and ecology

A marine species that prefers

T. picturatus.[3]

Like other mackerels, the Mediterranean horse mackerel's reproduction is

oviparous. Its reproductive cycle is divided into three distinct stages, the prereproductive, reproductive, and postreproductive. The prereproductive stages occurs from January to April and the postreproductive stage occurs from September to December. During these periods, the gonads are much smaller than the reproductive stage. Mating occurs in the summer from May to August, during which testes and ovaries grow significantly in size. The ovaries become a dark orange color and eggs are visible on the surface.[7] Embryonic development occurs in 24–26 hours.[8] Eggs are pelagic[2] and 0.71–0.92 mm (0.028–0.036 in) in length.[9] Sexual maturity is reached at 2 years of age and around 16 cm (6.3 in) in length for both males and females.[7]

It is parasitized by the monogeneans Gastrocotyle trachuri, Pseudaxine trachuri, and Cemocotyle trachuri.[10]

Human interaction

Commercial capture of Mediterranean horse mackerel in tonnes from 1950 to 2009[3]
Mediterranean horse mackerel are an important economic resource in the Mediterranean Sea.[6]

The Mediterranean horse mackerel is an important resource in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea region.

Engraulis encrasicolus, it makes up 59% of seafood production in Turkey.[9]

Despite being regularly caught in mixed-species fisheries, the Mediterranean horse mackerel is listed as least concern by the IUCN. Its wide range buffers it from steep population declines, and none has been observed in recent years, with catches leveling out in the past decade. Overfishing in the 1980s led to a steep decline in catches in the Black and Marmara Seas, but has since become stable. Some conservation measures are in place in certain European countries. Minimum catch lengths are 15 cm (5.9 in) in the EU, 10 cm (3.9 in) in Ukraine, 12 cm (4.7 in) in Romania and Bulgaria, and 13 cm (5.1 in) in Turkey.[1]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198645A43156470.en
    . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2017). "Trachurus mediterraneus" in FishBase. February 2017 version.
  3. ^ a b c "Trachurus mediterraneus". FAO.org. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
  4. ^
    doi:10.12681/mms.284
    .
  5. doi:10.12681/mms.700
    .
  6. ^
    doi:10.1016/j.icesjms.2004.05.001
    .
  7. ^
    doi:10.1006/jmsc.1996.0185
    .
  8. ^ Pora, E. (1979). "Le chinchard de la Mer Noire (Trachurus mediterraneus ponticus), étude monographique". Institut Roumain de Recherches Marines: 753.
  9. ^
    doi:10.3906/zoo-1212-31
    .
  10. PMID 10704600
    .
  11. ^ Artüz, M. Levent (2000). "The egg and larval growth stages of Horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus (Linnaeus, 1758) from the Sea of Marmara" (pdf). Fisheries Advisory Commission Technical Paper (202).

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mediterranean_horse_mackerel&oldid=1168691665"