''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.

Description

''Umbrina canariensis'' has a rather short, deeply compressed body with a small downward facing mouth and a short rigid barbell on the chin. The caudal fin is straight edges or sometimes shows a slight s-shape. Most of its scales are ctenoid, except for those on the snout and around the eye, which are cycloid. The colour varies from greyish-silver to darkish with longitudinal dark lines along the back and the higher portion of the sides, these often extend on to the head, becoming obscure as the fish matures. The distal portions of the fins is dark grey to black; while the membranes on rear edge of the gill covers is dark brown. They are normally 40 cm in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

but can be up to 63 cm. The maximum total length is 80 cm. Juvenile Baardman at Castle Rocks DSC03992

Distribution

''Umbrina canariensis'' occursin the western Mediterranean, as far east as the

Sicilian Channel The Strait of Sicily (also known as Sicilian Strait, Sicilian Channel, Channel of Sicily, Sicilian Narrows and Pantelleria Channel; it, Canale di Sicilia or the Stretto di Sicilia; scn, Canali di Sicilia or Strittu di Sicilia, ar, مضيق ص ...

and northeastern Atlantic to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

, along most of the western African coastline from

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to central Namibia. It is uncommon in northern Namibia and absent off southern Namibia and the west coast of South Africa caused by the cold Benguela Upwelling System. In the Western Indian Ocean it occurs from False Bay in Western Cape to Mozambique, it has also been reported from Pakistan.

Habitat

''Umbrina canariensis'' is found in the waters of the continental shelf and upper slope waters, ranging from 50m to 300m in depth, over mud and sand substrates; the juvenile fish are found nearer the shore. It occurs near the shore in the surf zone and also out to more than 400m from the shore, and can also be found over rocky bottoms and in reefs below the low water mark.

Behaviour

''Umbrina canariensis'' feeds on small

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

s, worms and other

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

invertebrates. Spawning is from late spring into the early autumn in Europe. The transparent, buoyant eggs are scattered and left unguarded in open water.

Fisheries

''Umbrina canariensis'' is caught with bottom trawls, fixed bottom nets and line gear. The combined catch of croakers, U. canariensis and ''

Pseudotolithus typus ''Pseudotolithus'' is a genus of croaker or bar, ray-finned fish in the family Sciaenidae. Selected species * ''Pseudotolithus elongatus'' - bobo croaker * ''Pseudotolithus senegalensis'' - cassava croaker * ''Pseudotolithus senegallus ''Pseu ...

'' reported from Angola in 2001 was approximately 9000 tons. The fish are sold fresh or dried and salted. In South Africa it is considered to be of low importance and is a bycatch in the trawl fisheries for sole and hake as a result of its low monetary value which means that landings are infrequently reported in catch returns and stock assessment of ''U. canariensis'' in the two areas where it is most abundant indicate that the species is not overexploited. In Ghana between 2001 and 2008 the reported catches of Sciaenidae species (including ''U. canariensis'') ranged from 593 to 1,837t.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2465480 Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish of the Mediterranean Sea Fish of Europe Sciaenidae Taxa named by Achille Valenciennes Fish described in 1843