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Cubiceps capensis (Smith, 1845)

Cape fathead
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Cubiceps capensis   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Cubiceps capensis (Cape fathead)
Cubiceps capensis
Picture by Lord, R.

South Africa country information

Common names: Cape fathead, Kaapse vetkop
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Type locality: north of Cape Town (Ref. 7442). Also Ref. 28222.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/sf.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Haedrich, R.L., 1986
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Cape cigarfish, Cape cubiceps, Kap-tykhovedfisk, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Scombriformes (Mackerels) > Nomeidae (Driftfishes)
Etymology: Cubiceps: Latin, cubus = cube + Latin, ceps = head (Ref. 45335).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 140 m (Ref. 54802).   Subtropical; 40°N - 35°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Probably circumglobal in tropical and temperate seas. Reported from the Mediterranean (Ref. 11228).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 101 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5951)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 20 - 23; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 20 - 21; Vertebrae: 31. Dark brown to deep purple, fins dark (Ref. 4412). Preorbital snout naked or with a few predorsal scales distinctly smaller than those between eyes (Ref 9834).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Oceanic, epipelagic or mesopelagic in tropical waters. Feeds mainly on salps (Ref. 33689). Occurs near the surface at night but depth at daytime is not known. Excellent food fish.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Haedrich, R.L., 1990. Nomeidae. p. 1014-1018. 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. 6891)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 29 January 2013

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial
FAO(Publication : search) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | GOBASE | | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 16.4 - 26.4, mean 21.9 (based on 848 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5010   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00977 (0.00420 - 0.02273), b=3.09 (2.88 - 3.30), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.5   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (61 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.