Dicentrarchus labrax

Common name. Sea bass.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from D. punctatus by: ● 65–80 lateral-line scales on body (vs. 58–68) / ● adults without small black spots on upper part of body (vs. with black spots) / ● vomerine teeth in an anchor shape patch (crescentic band with a median posterior extension (vs. crescentic band only) / ● scales in interorbital area cycloid (vs. ctenoid). Size up to 1000 mm SL.

Distribution. Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts. Coasts of Atlantic Morocco as far north as Norway, but absent from White, Barents, and Caspian Seas.

Habitat. Coastal waters and estuaries.

Biology. Lives up to 30 years. Spawns first time at 4–7 years and about 350 (male) and 420 (female) mm SL. Spawns pelagic in open sea, in January–June at temperatures above 9°C. Larvae planktonic. Juveniles move inshore as they grow, aggregating in brackish estuarine nursery areas where they usually remain until second summer. Large juveniles and adults exhibit a complex migratory pattern at sea, moving inshore and into estuarine freshwaters during summer to feed. Juveniles feed on invertebrates, taking more fish as they grow. Adults are piscivorous.

Conservation status. NT; numbers have declined over the last 20 years due to overfishing.

Further reading. Whitehead & Wheeler 1966 (systematics); Bauchot & Pras 1980 (diagnosis); Pickett & Pawson 1994 (biology).