Common names from other countries
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Sparidae (Porgies)
Etymology: Sarpa: Spanish, sarpo, sapo = toad; a toad-fish (1753) (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; benthopelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 5 - 70 m (Ref. 3688). Subtropical; 45°N - 40°S, 26°W - 36°E
Eastern Atlantic: Bay of Biscay and Strait of Gibraltar to Sierra Leone, including Madeira, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde; Congo to South Africa. Also present in the Mediterranean.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 16.5  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 51.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3397); common length : 30.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4781)
Found over rocky substrates and sandy area with algal growth. Gregarious, sometimes forming sizeable schools. Young mainly carnivorous on crustaceans, adults almost exclusively herbivorous (Ref. 4781), feed on seaweeds (Ref. 36731). Protandric hermaphrodite (Ref. 4781). Tasty when fresh, but easily softens and is not much esteemed (Ref. 3198).
A monandric species (Ref. 55367). Sex change occurs at 25.0 cm TL and 3.75 years of age (Ref. 55367). Conflicting descriptions of the reproductive style of this species have been reported, including possible gonochorism (Ref. 103751). Also Ref. 28504.
Bauchot, M.-L. and J.-C. Hureau, 1990. Sparidae. p. 790-812. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 3688)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
CITES (Ref. 128078)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; bait: occasionally
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