African striped grunt
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Haemulidae
Genus: Parapristipoma
Species:
P. octolineatum
Binomial name
Parapristipoma octolineatum
(Valenciennes, 1833)
Synonyms[2]
  • Pristipoma octolineatum Valenciennes, 1833
  • Diagramma octolineatum (Valenciennes, 1833)

The African striped grunt (Parapristipoma octolineatum) is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae, the grunts. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

Description

The African striped grunt has an elongated body.[3] It has a large eye and a large, oblique mouth with an obvious chin and a short snout. It has a continuous dorsal fin which contains 13 spines and 14-15 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 7 soft rays.[4] It appears black underwater[5] but in fact the upper body is brownish, while the lower body has a silvery appearance. It has four white, horizontal stripes along each flank, two of these running through the black eyes. The fins are yellow in colour, with the caudal fin being more vivid than the others.[3] The maximum standard length of this species is 50 cm (20 in), although a more typical standard length is 25 cm (9.8 in).[2]

Distribution

The African striped grunt is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It ranges along the western coast of Africa from Angola in the south north to Morocco, including the islands in the Gulf of Guinea and the Macaronesian Islands and the southern Iberian Peninsula, into the southern Mediterranean as far as east as Tunisia.[1] Vagrancy has occurred in the Bay of Biscay off the western coast of France.[6]

Habitat and biology

The African striped grunt occurs at depths between 2 and 180 m (6 ft 7 in and 590 ft 7 in).[1] It is found over sandy and rocky substrates where it feeds on crustaceans and molluscs.[4] The males and females form distinct pairs for spawning.[2] The juveniles move inshore to take up territories.[5]

Systematics

The African striped grunt was first formally described in 1833 by the French zoologist Achille Valenciennes with the type locality given as Gorée in Senegal.[7] The specific name octolineatum means "eight-lined", a reference to the four stripes on each flank.[8]

Utilisation

The African striped grunt is occasionally caught throughout its range, however, it is apparently not common and the catch is not reported separately. It is caught using trammel nets, bottom trawls and hook and line. The catch is largely sold fresh.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 de Morais, L.; Sidibé, A.; Nunoo, F.; Carpenter, K.E.; Camara, K.; Djiman, R.; Sagna, A.; Sylla, M.; Williams, A.B.; Montiero, V.; Lindeman, K.; Quartey, R. (2015). "Parapristipoma octolineatum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T194428A2334518. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T194428A2334518.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2021). "Parapristipoma octolineatum" in FishBase. February 2021 version.
  3. 1 2 "African Striped Grunt – Parapristipoma octolineatum". Tauchen auf den Kanaren. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 J.C. Hureau. "African striped grunt (Parapristipoma octolineatum)". Fishes of the NE Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  5. 1 2 "AFRICAN STRIPED GRUNT (PARAPRISTIPOMA OCTOLINEATUM)". Helping Hand Trust. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  6. ↑ M.N. Casamajor (2016). "First record of Parapristipoma octolineatum (Haemulidae) on the French Atlantic coast". Cybium. 40 (3): 263–264. doi:10.26028/cybium/2016-403-013.
  7. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Parapristipoma". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  8. ↑ Christopher Scharpf; Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (5 January 2021). "Order LUTJANIFORMES: Families HAEMULIDAE and LUTJANIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  9. ↑ K.E. Carpenter & G.D. Johnson (2016). "Haemulidae". In Carpenter, K.E. & De Angelis, N. (eds.). The living marine resources of the Eastern Central Atlantic. Volume 4: Bony fishes part 2 (Perciformes to Tetradontiformes) and Sea turtles. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. FAO Rome. p. 2556.
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