Sphyraena sphyraena

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Sphyraena sphyraena

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Istiophoriformes
Family: Sphyraenidae
Genus: Sphyraena
Species:
S. sphyraena
Binomial name
Sphyraena sphyraena
Synonyms[2]
  • Esox sphyraena Linnaeus 1758
  • Esox spet Haüy, 1787
  • Sphyraena spet (Haüy, 1787)
  • Sphyraena vulgaris Cuvier, 1829
  • Sphyraena bocagei Osório, 1891

Sphyraena sphyraena, also known as the European barracuda or Mediterranean barracuda, is a ray-finned predatory fish of the

Mediterranean basin and the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean
.

Description

Sphyraena sphyraena has a long, compressed body with a circular cross-section

anal fin has a one spiny ray and 9 soft rays.[3] S. sphyraena has scales covering both the anterior and posterior margins of the preoperculum, whereas in Sphyraena viridensis both margins have no scales.[5] They are normally around 30–60 cm in length and weigh 3.6 kg, but there are records of fish 165 cm long and reaching weights of at least 12 kg.[6] It is the largest species of barracuda in the Mediterranean.[7]

Distribution

In the Eastern Atlantic Sphyraena sphyraena is found from the

Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.[4] It has been found as far north as Cornwall in the United Kingdom.[8]

Ecology

Sphyraena sphyraena is normally a

crustaceans. They are a social species and large groups of Sphyraena sphyraena numbering between ten and two hundred have been recorded.[9] Reproduction occurs between May and August and the female can lay up to 300,000 eggs.[7] The copepod Bomolochus unicirrus is known to be an ectoparasite of S. sphyraena.[10]

Fisheries

It is caught in some quantities by commercial fisheries and it is an important game fish.[4] A decline in mean size and in the range of sizes caught has been noted in the eastern and southern Mediterranean and this may be an indication of over exploitation. Juvenile S. sphyraena are taken as bycatch in fisheries for small forage fish, such as sardines and anchovies, while the rather sedentary adults are vulnerable to other fishing pressures, including spearfishing.[1]

Barracuda

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sphyraena sphyraena.
  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198565A15596165.en
    .
  2. ^ "Synonyms of Sphyraena sphyraena (Linnaeus, 1758)". Fishbase.org.
  3. ^ a b "Sphyraena sphyraena (Linnaeus, 1758) (in Spanish)". Asturnatura.com. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Marine Species Identification Portal : Barracuda - Sphyraena sphyraena". Species-identification.org.
  5. ^ Jakov Dulĉić; Alen Soldo (2004). "On the occurrence of the Yellowmouth Barracuda Sphraena viridensis Cuvier 1829 (Pisces: Shyraenidae) in the Adriatic Sea" (PDF). Annales, Series Historia Naturalis. 14 (2): 225–227.
  6. ^ "Barracuda ( sphyraena sphyraena) - European Federation of Sea Angling Baracuda Records". Efsa.co.uk.
  7. ^ a b "Sphyraena sphyraena". Cotebleue.org. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  8. ^ "Sphyraena viridensis, known as the Yellowmouth Barracuda" (TXT). Glaucus.org.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Fuerteventura Fauna - Marine Life". Fuerteventura.com.
  10. ^ G. Boxshall (2015). "Bomolochus unicirrus Brian, 1902". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
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