Info
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: Scandinavia to northern Namibia including the Strait of Gibraltar, Mediterranean and the Black Sea, Madeira, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde.
Biology
Found over seagrass beds and rocky and sandy bottoms to about 300 m.
Gregarious, sometimes in large schools.
Omnivorous, feeding on seaweeds and small invertebrates, especially crustaceans.
Protogynic hermaphrodites.
An important food fish.
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
Synonymised taxa:
Cantharus cantharus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Cantharus lineatus (Montagu, 1818)
Cantharus senegalensis Valenciennes, 1830
Cantharus vulgaris Valenciennes, 1830
Sparus cantharus Linnaeus, 1758 (synonym)
Sparus lineatus Montagu, 1818
Spondyliosoma cantarus (Linnaeus, 1758) (misspelling)
Eastern Atlantic: Scandinavia to northern Namibia including the Strait of Gibraltar, Mediterranean and the Black Sea, Madeira, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde.
Biology
Found over seagrass beds and rocky and sandy bottoms to about 300 m.
Gregarious, sometimes in large schools.
Omnivorous, feeding on seaweeds and small invertebrates, especially crustaceans.
Protogynic hermaphrodites.
An important food fish.
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
Synonymised taxa:
Cantharus cantharus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Cantharus lineatus (Montagu, 1818)
Cantharus senegalensis Valenciennes, 1830
Cantharus vulgaris Valenciennes, 1830
Sparus cantharus Linnaeus, 1758 (synonym)
Sparus lineatus Montagu, 1818
Spondyliosoma cantarus (Linnaeus, 1758) (misspelling)