''Spicara smaris'', one of the picarels, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

native to the eastern

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

. It grows to a maximum length of about ; females are usually smaller than males.

Description

''Spicara smaris'' grows to a maximum length of but a more common maximum size is . It is a more slender fish than the closely related blotched picarel ('' Spicara maena'') and can be distinguished from that species by having 75–81 scales along the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

rather than 68–70. Its back is grey-brown and it has silvery flanks with a large black spot located above the tip of the pectoral fin. Male fish are usually larger than females and have small blue spots scattered across the dorsal and anal fins.

Distribution and habitat

''Spicara smaris'' is native to the subtropical eastern Atlantic Ocean including the coasts of Portugal, the Canary Islands and Morocco, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. It is usually found in

seagrass meadow A seagrass meadow or seagrass bed is an underwater ecosystem formed by seagrasses. Seagrasses are marine (saltwater) plants found in shallow coastal waters and in the brackish waters of estuaries. Seagrasses are flowering plants with stems and ...

s and over sandy and muddy seabeds. Its depth range is generally but it has been recorded at depths of in the eastern

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...

Biology

''Spicara smaris'' is a sociable fish, forming large groups with others of its species. It is a protogynous

sequential hermaphrodite Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is a type of hermaphroditism that occurs in many fish, gastropods, and plants. Sequential hermaphroditism occurs when the individual changes its sex at some point in its life. In particular, ...

, individuals maturing as females and becoming males at some later point. All individuals over about are male and the maximum age for a male is six years while for a female it is four. Breeding takes place once a year and the colour of a male becomes brighter at this time. The male will scoop out a nest in soft sediment in which the female will lay eggs. The male then guards these until they hatch, after which time his bright colours fade and he rejoins other schooling fish.

Classification

''Spicara smaris'' was removed from the family

Centracanthidae The Sparidae are a family (biology), family of fish in the order Perciformes, commonly called sea breams and porgies. The Sheepshead (Archosargus), sheepshead, scup, and red seabream are species in this family. Most sparids are deep-bodied compre ...

and placed in family Sparidae in 2014.

As food

''Spicara smaris'' is a popular food in parts of southern Italy,

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

, and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

.Alan Davidson, ''Mediterranean Seafood'', , 1972, p. 108 In Dalmatia, salted picarel, ''slana gira'', are popular. Picarel is one of the five most commonly caught fish in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. In Greece and Cyprus, picarel, ''marida'', is generally battered and fried, and eaten whole, including the head, tail, and bones.Cyprus Ministry of Tourism, "Marida", ''The Official Portal of Cyprus Tourism'

/ref>

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1008840 Sparidae Fish described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus