Gray gurnard
| Gray gurnard | ||||||||||||
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Gray gurnard ( Eutrigla gurnardus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Eutrigla | ||||||||||||
| Fraser-Brunner, 1938 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Eutrigla gurnardus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The gray gurnard ( Eutrigla gurnardus ) is a species of gurnard within the perch-like species . Its distribution area extends from Norway and Iceland to North Africa, and it can also be found in the North Sea, the western Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
features
The gray gurnard has an elongated, conical body with a large head that narrows towards the back. It reaches an average body length of 30 centimeters, the maximum length can be up to 60 centimeters. The head has a large, very wide and terminal mouth with fleshy lips. The head is armored with numerous strips. The back and the flanks are dark gray and marked by a yellow and a white side line, the belly is white. In the Mediterranean, the animals are reddish brown or brown.
The pectoral fins are wing-like, the foremost three hard rays have no fin skin and are freely movable as individual rays. The pelvic fins are throaty. The dorsal fin is divided, the front dorsal fin consists of 8 to 9 hard rays, the second of 19 to 20 soft rays. The anal fin has 17 to 21 soft rays and the pectoral fin has 10 to 11 soft rays in addition to the 3 individually standing hard rays.
distribution
The gray gurnard is in the northeastern Atlantic from Norway and Iceland to North Africa spread, he is also in the North Sea , the western Baltic Sea , the Mediterranean and in the Black Sea found
Way of life
The fish lives mainly on sandy and muddy bottoms at a depth of 5 to 200 meters, where it feeds on crustaceans , molluscs and small fish. In the summer it lives near the coast and penetrates into the brackish water of river mouths. The family is named for its ability to make growling or grunting noises. These noises are made by the fish using a muscle that makes the two-chambered swim bladder vibrate.
The spawning season falls from January to June. The 200,000 to 300,000 eggs are released into the open water and float in the surface water due to stored oil droplets. The fish larvae, which hatch after 5 days, also remain in the plankton and, from a length of about 3 centimeters, go over to the bottom life.
Importance to humans
Gurnards are popular and very high quality food fish.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c Gray Gurnard on Fishbase.org (English)
- ↑ a b c d e f Andreas Vilcinskas : Fish - Central European freshwater species and marine fish of the North and Baltic Seas . BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, Munich 2000; P. 170. ISBN 3-405-15848-6 .
literature
- Andreas Vilcinskas : Fish - Central European freshwater species and marine fish of the North and Baltic Seas . BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, Munich 2000; P. 170. ISBN 3-405-15848-6 .
Web links
- Gray gurnard on Fishbase.org (English)