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Sparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758

Gilthead seabream
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Sparus aurata   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Sparus aurata (Gilthead seabream)
Sparus aurata
Picture by Pillon, R.


Channel Islands country information

Common names: [No common name]
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments:
National Checklist:
Country Information: ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Island
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Bauchot, M.-L. and J.-C. Hureau, 1986
National Database:

Common names from other countries

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

Teleostei (teleosts) > Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) > Sparidae (Porgies)
Etymology: Sparus: Latin, sparus = a fish with a golden head (Ref. 45335).
  More on author: Linnaeus.

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

Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range 1 - 150 m (Ref. 35388), usually 1 - 30 m (Ref. 54890).   Subtropical; 62°N - 15°N, 17°W - 43°E (Ref. 54890)

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

Eastern Atlantic: British Isles, Strait of Gibraltar to Cape Verde and around the Canary Islands; also in the Mediterranean (Ref. 3688). Reported from the Black Sea (Ref. 12781). Reports from New Zealand refer to Pagrus auratus (Foster 1801) (Ref. 5755, 9258).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 36.5, range 33 - 40 cm
Max length : 70.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 35388); common length : 35.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4781); max. published weight: 17.2 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 11 years (Ref. 7253)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13 - 14; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 11 - 12. Body tall, with large black spot on the gill cover. Snout more than twice as long as the eye diameter (Ref. 35388).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found in seagrass beds and sandy bottoms as well as in the surf zone commonly to depths of about 30 m, but adults may occur to 150 m depth. A sedentary fish, either solitary or in small aggregations. In spring, they often occur in brackish water coastal lagoons and estuaries. Mainly carnivorous, accessorily herbivorous (Ref. 3688). Feed on shellfish, including mussels and oysters. One of the most important fishes in saline and hypersaline aquaculture. Utilized fresh and eaten steamed, pan-fried, broiled, boiled, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9987).

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

Males become females at about 3 years of age (Ref. 2715, 28504). Protandric hermaphrodite species, maturing first as male (during the first or second year of age) and after the second or third year of age, as female. Spawning happens generally from October to December, with sequenced spawning during the whole period. Incubation lasts about 2 days at 16-1 7°C. Larval stages last about 50 days at 1 7.5°C or about 43 days at 20°C. Egg size 0.9-1.1 mm, larval length at hatching 2.5-3.0 mm. Simultaneous hermaphroditism is suggested for this species (Ref. 103751).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

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)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 19 August 2009

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO(Aquaculture systems: production, species profile; Fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
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References
References

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 12.1 - 21, mean 17.8 (based on 258 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.0000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01202 (0.01084 - 0.01334), b=3.02 (2.99 - 3.05), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.7   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.28; tmax=11; tm=2-3).
Prior r = 0.57, 95% CL = 0.37 - 0.85, Based on 7 data-limited stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (35 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate vulnerability (41 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.