Brown meagre

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Brown meagre
Sciaena umbra.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Acanthuriformes
Family: Sciaenidae
Genus: Sciaena
Species:
S. umbra
Binomial name
Sciaena umbra
Synonyms
List
  • Bairdiella umbra Linnaeus, 1758
  • Coracinus chalcisPallas, 1814
  • Corvina canariensisCuvier, 1830
  • Corvina nigramisapplied name
  • Corvina umbra Linnaeus, 1758
  • Johnius nigramisapplied name
  • Johnius umbra Linnaeus, 1758
  • Sciaena nigraBloch, 1792

The brown meagre or corb (Sciaena umbra) is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. This species found in, the eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea occurring in shallow waters and sandy bottoms. It is harvested for human consumption, especially in the Mediterranean.

Contents

Taxonomy

The brown meagre was first formally described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of the Systema Naturae . Linnaeus gave the type locality as Zadar in Croatia. [3] In 1972 the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature confirmed that this species was the type species of the genus Sciaena . [4] The genus Sciaena is placed in the subfamily Sciaeninae by some authors [5] but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sciaenidae which it places in the order Acanthuriformes. [6]

Etymology

The specific name umbra is derived from the Latin for a shadow or phantom [7] while the generic name is derived from the Greek skiaina or skion meaning a fish, or more specifically a red mullet. [2]

Distribution

The brown meagre is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the southern English Channel south to Senegal and Cape Verde, including the Canary Islands, [8] records from West Africa south of Senegal are questionable. Also in the Mediterranean Sea, (where IUCN classifies it as Vulnerable [9] ) the Black Sea [1] and Sea of Azov. [8]

Habitat

Corbs (Sciaena umbra) from Ligurian sea Sciaenidae - Sciaena umbra.JPG
Corbs (Sciaena umbra) from Ligurian sea

The brown meagre is found at depths between 5 and 200 m (16 and 656 ft), [10] mainly over rocky and sandy substrates and the young enter estuarine environments. [1]

Description

The brown meagre is between 30 and 40 cm (12 and 16 in) in length but can grow to 60 cm (24 in). It has a flat belly and its strongly arched back which give it an easily recognisable shape, the body is laterally compressed and the large, horizontal mouth reaches the level of the eye and contains villiform teeth. The anal and pelvic fins are black with an anterior white border. Both dorsal fins and the truncate caudal fin, are yellow with a black border. The body is grey with flashes of gold and silver. The scales are ctenoid on the nape and the body while the head scales are cycloid. [10] [8]

Biology and behaviour

Sciaena umbra juvenile Sciaena umbra juvenile.png
Sciaena umbra juvenile

It is a rather nocturnal fish but it can occasionally be found during the day among beds of sea grass and on rocky bottoms in the vicinity of caves or large crevices where it can shelter. This species is social and lives in small groups. [1] It feeds off the small fishes and crustaceans. They are capable of creating sound using some muscles under their well developed swim bladder. This is their way of communication since they have a very good hearing ability. [11] They can manage their buoyancy perfectly. [2] The spawning period is from March to August in the Mediterranean. [8]

Fisheries

The brown meagre is a commercial species throughout the Mediterranean basin and has been over exploited by fishing practices. It is fished mainly by spear fishing, trammel nets, and gill nets and is heavily exposed to fisheries during spawning aggregations at the mouths of estuaries. [1]

Sold fresh or frozen across fish markets in Turkey. The otoliths of the brown meagre are ground and used for urinary infections by local people in Turkey. [2] [9] The sport and commercial fishing of this species was banned in Turkey until 2003 and 2006 to help conserve the stock. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sciaenidae</span> Family of fishes

Sciaenidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Acanthuriformes. They are commonly called drums or croakers in reference to the repetitive throbbing or drumming sounds they make. The family consists of about 293 to 298 species in about 66 or 67 genera.

<i>Merlangius</i> Species of fish

Merlangius merlangus, commonly known as whiting or merling, is an important food fish in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean and the northern Mediterranean, western Baltic, and Black Sea. In Anglophonic countries outside the Whiting's natural range, the name "whiting" has been applied to various other species of fish.

<i>Argyrosomus regius</i> Species of fish

Argyrosomus regius, also known as the meagre, croaker, jewfish, shade-fish, sowa, kir, corvina, salmon-bass or stone bass, is a species of fish of the family Sciaenidae. This large fish has a pearly-silver to brownish coloration and a yellow-coloured mouth. It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

<i>Argyrosomus</i> Genus of fishes in the drum family, Sciaenidae

Argyrosomus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums. The fish in this genus are large and are commonly targeted as game fish.

<i>Mullus barbatus</i> Species of fish

Mullus barbatus is a species of goatfish found in the Mediterranean Sea, Sea of Marmara, the Black Sea and the eastern North Atlantic Ocean, where its range extends from Scandinavia to Senegal. They are fished, mostly by trawling, with the flesh being well regarded. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed their conservation status as being of "least concern".

<i>Pogonias</i> Genus of fishes

Pogonias is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Sciaenidae. It was formerly believed to be a monotypic genus only containing the black drum, but a second species was re-described in 2019.

<i>Cynoscion</i> Genus of fishes

Cynoscion is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family, Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found off the coasts of North and South America in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans. Many fishes in this genus have been given the common name weakfish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European pilchard</span> Species of fish

The European pilchard is a species of ray-finned fish in the monotypic genus Sardina. The young of the species are among the many fish that are sometimes called sardines. This common species is found in the northeast Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea at depths of 10–100 m (33–328 ft). It reaches up to 27.5 cm (10.8 in) in length and mostly feeds on planktonic crustaceans. This schooling species is a batch spawner where each female lays 50,000–60,000 eggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotted seabass</span> Species of fish

The spotted seabass is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Moronidae, the temperate basses. This species is found in the marine and brackish waters of the coastal eastern Atlantic Ocean from the English Channel to the Canary Islands and Senegal, as well as through the Mediterranean Sea.

<i>Sciaena</i> Genus of fishes

Sciaena is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Umbrina canariensis</i> Species of fish

Umbrina canariensis, the Canary drum is a warm water, marine fish of the family Sciaenidae which is found in the western Mediterranean, eastern Atlantic Ocean and western Indian Ocean. Other English vernacular names are tesselfish, baardman, checker drum, common baardman, tasselfish and bellman.

<i>Umbrina</i> Genus of fishes

Umbrina is a genus of fish from the croaker family Sciaenidae. The genus contains 17 species occurring in tropical and warm temperate waters of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Western Indian Ocean and the eastern Pacific.

<i>Umbrina cirrosa</i> Species of fish

Umbrina cirrosa, the shi drum, is a species of marine fish from the warmer waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. It is a commercially important species which is trawled for and farmed in aquaculture, as well as being a species pursued by anglers and spear fishermen for sport. The alternative vernacular names are gurbell, sea crow, bearded umbrine and corb.

<i>Umbrina ronchus</i> Species of fish from the family Sciaenidae

Umbrina ronchus, the fusca drum, slender baardman, roncador, fusca croaker or slender tasselfish, is a species of croaker or drum from the family Sciaenidae which is found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

<i>Atractoscion</i> Genus of fishes

Atractoscion is a genus of marine ray-finned fished belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. The fishes in this genus are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

<i>Odontoscion dentex</i> Species of fish

Odontoscion dentex, the reef croaker or brown large-eyed croaker, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. It is found in coral and rocky reefs of the tropical Western Atlantic, living as solitary individuals or in small groups at a depth of 1 to 30 m. This species feeds on small fish, shrimp, and larvae.

Ctenosciaena is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the Western Atlantic and southeastern Pacific Oceans.

<i>Eques</i> (fish)

Eques is a small genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Odontoscion</i>

Odontoscion is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the croakers and drums. These fishes are found in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boe drum</span>

The boe drum is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Pteroscion. The boe drum is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off western coast of Africa.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Chao, L. (2020). "Sciaena umbra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T198707A130230194. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T198707A130230194.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2016). "Sciaena umbra" in FishBase. December 2016 version.
  3. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Sciaena". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  4. International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (1972). "Opinion 988 Sciaena Linnaeus, 1758 (Pisces): Designation of a Type-Species under the Plenary Powers". Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. 29: 123–124.
  5. Kunio Sasaki (1989). "Phylogeny of the family Sciaenidae, with notes on its Zoogeography (Teleostei, Perciformes)" (PDF). Memoirs of the Faculty of Fishes Hokkaido University. 36 (1–2): 1–137.
  6. J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 497–502. ISBN   978-1-118-34233-6. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  7. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2016). "Umbrina cirrosa" in FishBase . December 2016 version.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Fishes of the NE Atlantic and Mediterranean - Brown Meagre (Sciaena umbra)". Marine Species Identification Portal. ETI BioInformatics. Archived from the original on 21 December 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. 1 2 3 Bizsel, C.; Yokes, B.; Pollard, D.; Kara, M.H.; Bariche, M. & Quignard, J.P. (2011). "Sciaena umbra (Mediterranean assessment)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2011: e.T198707A9080239. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  10. 1 2 "Sciaena umbra". Association Mer et Littoral. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  11. M. Picciulin; M. Bolgan; A.B. Corò; G. Calcagno; S. Malavasi (2016). "Sound production by the Shi drum Umbrina cirrosa and comparison with the brown meagre Sciaena umbra: a passive acoustic monitoring perspective". Journal of Fish Biology. 88 (4): 1655–1660. doi:10.1111/jfb.12926. hdl: 10278/3674577 .