Common dentex

The common dentex (Dentex dentex) is a species of fish in the family Sparidae.[2]

Common dentex
Common dentex off Tenerife (Spain)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Spariformes
Family: Sparidae
Genus: Dentex
Species:
D. dentex
Binomial name
Dentex dentex
Distribution map
Synonyms
  • Dentex vulgaris Valenciennes, 1830
  • Sparus dentex Linnaeus, 1758

Etymology

Genus and species Latin name Dentex is related to dentēs which means "teeth".[2]

Description

Adult dentex can reach a length of one metre (3 ft), and weight up to 16 kg (35 lb). The body is oval and compressed. Teeth are very developed in each jaw. Dentex have 11 dorsal spines: 11–12 dorsal soft rays; 3 anal spines: 7–9 anal soft rays. Adults are grey-blue, while young dentex have a slightly different livery, brown-blue with blue fins.[2]

Biology

Dentex is an active predator, feeding on other fish, mollusca and cephalopods. It is solitary for most of the year, but during reproduction it lives in groups for some weeks: fully-grown dentex stay together just two to three weeks during spring in the warmer water near the surface.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Dentex is common in the Mediterranean Sea (called sinarit in Turkish), but also seen in the Black Sea and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean from the British Isles to Mauritania, sometimes up to Senegal and Canary Islands. It lives in sandy or stony deeps, from just some metres/feet to 200 m (700 ft).[3][2]

References
  1. Carpenter, K.E.; Russell, B. (2014). "Common Dentex". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2022). "Dentex dentex" in FishBase. 11 2022 version.
  3. Froese, R. and D. Pauly (2022). "Dentex dentex (Linnaeus, 1758)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 26 November 2022.

Further reading
  • Louisy, Patrick (2006). Trainito, Egidio (ed.). Guida all'identificazione dei pesci marini d'Europa e del Mediterraneo. Milan: Il Castello. ISBN 88-8039-472-X.
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