Pagellus Acarne

– Spanish Sea-Bream –

Description

The acarne pageot can reach 35 cm in length. Its general shape is rather slender, spindle-shaped and compressed laterally.
The profile of the head is rather straight , although its muzzle is clearly arched . The mouth, orange on the inside, has several rows of small teeth at the front of the jaws and several rows of molars at the back. The eye is medium in size (diameter less than or equal to the size of the muzzle).
Its general color is grayish , sometimes with pinkish reflections , and its sides are lighter, even silvery. The bump of the head is darker pink. It has a black or dark red spot at the high base of the pectoral fins. The lateral line is clear and practically straight.
The fins are translucent, with pinkish reflections. The dorsal, anal and caudal can be edged in dark orange, the pelvic can be edged in white.
The interior of the lids is deep orange.

Biotope

It lives in sparse schools on rocky or sandy bottoms, between 20 and 100 m deep (maximum 420 m).
It is considered semi-pelagic, ie it lives in open water and just above the bottom.
Juveniles tend to live near rocks or seagrass beds, closer to the coast.

Similar Species

The species of the genus Pagellus all have the inside of the mouth orange. On the metropolitan coasts, one can quote:
– Pagellus erythrinus , the common pageot: its straight profile and its pointed muzzle are characteristic. It is pinkish in color, often with small blue dots on the back. It has a reddish spot at the base of the pectoral fins.
– Pagellus bogaraveo , the pink pageot: pinkish-brown in color, it has only a dark spot behind the head. He has large eyes: their diameter is greater than the size of the muzzle. It lives on rather deep sandy bottoms.
– and Pagellus acarne .
These species are rarely encountered while diving.

We can also confuse the acarne pageot with the bug, Boops boops , whose body is more streamlined. Its lateral line is dark. It is also smaller.

Alimentation

It eats, on the bottom, small fish and small worms, molluscs, echinoderms or crustaceans.
It also happens to catch prey in open water.
Voracious, he is active day and night.

Reproduction

Sexual maturity is reached at 2 years (13 to 18 cm in length).
This species is a protandrous hermaphrodite *: first male, it becomes female, reaching a length of 17 to 29 cm, i.e. between 2 and 7 years. We note that it is the opposite for the common pageot.
Breeding takes place from June to September in the western Mediterranean.

Various Biology

The dorsal fin has 12 to 13 hard rays and 10 to 12 soft rays.
The anal fin has 3 hard rays and 9-10 soft rays.

Further Information

This species is frequent on the stalls because its flesh is esteemed.