Cymatoceps nasutus, Black musselcracker : fisheries, gamefish

Cymatoceps nasutus (Castelnau, 1861)

Black musselcracker
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Cymatoceps nasutus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Cymatoceps nasutus (Black musselcracker)
Cymatoceps nasutus
Picture by Polack, D.

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: Cymatoceps: Greek, kyma, -atos = wave, swelling, bump (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Castelnau.

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

Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range 1 - 80 m (Ref. 3507). Subtropical; 22°S - 35°S

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

Western Indian Ocean: Natal to the Cape in South Africa.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 53 - ? cm
Max length : 150 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3507); max. published weight: 34.4 kg (Ref. 40637)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8. Adults with a large fleshy 'nose'.
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits shallow, rocky coastal areas to 80 m depth. Rarely enters estuaries. Feeds on crabs, crayfish, sea urchins and other hard-shelled animals (Ref. 3670). Takes almost any bait (Ref. 3198). Important food fish. Head considered a delicacy in some areas (Ref. 3198). It is parasitised by the monogenean Anoplodiscus cirrusspiralis on the fins and body surface (Ref. 124057).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Bauchot, M.-L. and M.M. Smith, 1984. Sparidae. In W. Fischer and G. Bianchi (eds.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Western Indian Ocean (Fishing Area 51). volume 4. [var. pag.] FAO, Rome. (Ref. 3507)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)

  Vulnerable (VU) (A2bd); Date assessed: 11 July 2024

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search |