Goldmaiden
| Goldmaiden | ||||||||||||
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Gold maiden ( Symphodus melops ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Symphodus melops | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The gold maiden ( Symphodus melops ) is a species of wrasse found in the north and east Atlantic and in the western Mediterranean and the Adriatic.
features
The Goldmaid has a laterally flattened, oval and high-backed body and reaches a body length of up to a maximum of 28 centimeters. The pointed head has a terminal mouth that forms the bulging lips typical of the wrasse. The coloration is variable and shows a sexual dimorphism . The males are brown, reddish or green in color with indistinct spots and light blue lines on the head. The females are uniformly dark brown. Common to both sexes is a blue-black, crescent-shaped spot behind the eyes and a dark spot on the tail stalk.
The undivided dorsal fin has 14 to 17 hard rays and then 8 to 10 soft rays, the anal fin 3 hard and 8 to 11 soft rays. The pelvic fins are on the chest , the pectoral fins have 15 rays. A total of 31 to 37 scales lie along the sideline .
distribution
The gold maiden can be found from the north-eastern Atlantic from Norway and Great Britain to North Africa . It also lives in the North and Baltic Seas, as well as in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic
Way of life
The fish live in the area of algae-grown rocks or seagrass meadows close to the coast at depths of up to 30 meters, where they occur individually or in small schools. They feed mainly on crustaceans .
The breeding season extends from April to June. At this time, the males become territorial and build nests of plant material in shallow hollows on the sea floor. The fish larvae live pelagic and move with a length of about 2 centimeters to the coast, where they stay in the intertidal zone . The juveniles reach sexual maturity after about 2 to 3 years, the maximum age is about 9 years.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d Andreas Vilcinskas : Fish - Central European freshwater species and marine fish of the North and Baltic Seas . BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, Munich 2000; P. 136. ISBN 3-405-15848-6 .
- ↑ a b Goldmaid on Fishbase.org (English)
literature
- Andreas Vilcinskas : Fish - Central European freshwater species and marine fish of the North and Baltic Seas . BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, Munich 2000; P. 136. ISBN 3-405-15848-6 .
Web links
- Goldmaid on Fishbase.org (English)
- Symphodus melops inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Pollard, D., 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2014.