''Trachinotus ovatus'', the pompano which is also known as the derbio or silverfish, is a
species of
ray-finned fish in the
family Carangidae, the jacks. It has large, strong fins. It is common in the
Mediterranean Sea, and in the
Atlantic Ocean from the
British Isles and
Scandinavia, where it is a
vagrant
Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...
, to the
Gulf of Guinea and Angola.
Description
''Trachinotus ovatus'' has an elongated body which is strongly compressed laterally. The background colour of the body is silver with a greenish back.
[ It has a caudal fin which is obviously split or forked and which has black margins and a white spot on the upper half of the fin. The dorsal and ]anal fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...
s are marked with black spots. Along the centre line of the flanks there are three to five black spots. This species can grow to long, although it normally attains no more than , and it can grow a weight of as much as .
Distribution
''Trachinotus ovatus'' occurs in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
and in British and Scandinavian waters where it is a rare vagrant south to Angola. Its range includes the Mediterranean Sea from the coastal waters of Spain, the Ligurian Sea, the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea and the Levantine Sea off Egypt. It is apparently absent from the northern Adriatic Sea. Its range includes Macaronesia and mid-Atlantic islands such as St Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
and Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory o ...
.
Habitat and biology
The adults of ''Trachinotus ovatus'' are quite common in shallow water where the waves surge. It prefers clear waters where there is a sand or mud substrate. It is sometimes found in lagoons and river estuaries. It is a sociable species which forms schools. Smaller individuals are frequently caught during the night where there are steep rocky shores.[ The adults feed on small crustaceans, ]mollusc
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
s and smaller fishes.[ They lay pelagic eggs,][ spawning occurring during the summer.][ It is found at depths between and .]
Human uses
''Trachinotus ovatus'' is a minor commercial quarry for fisheries and is used in aquaculture
Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...
. It is also a popular exhibit in public aquaria.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q887029
ovatus
Fish of the East Atlantic
Fish of the Mediterranean Sea
Marine fauna of West Africa
Fish described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus