Red Sea barb
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Red Sea Barbel ( Parupeneus forsskali ) |
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| Parupeneus forsskali | ||||||||||||
| ( Fourmanoir & Guézé , 1976) |
The red sea barbel ( Parupeneus forsskali ) is a marine fish from the family of the goatfish found in the Red Sea , in the Gulf of Aden and near Socotra . The species immigrated into the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal ( Lesseps Migration ) and is now established in the eastern Mediterranean. The fish stay at depths of 1 to 45 meters.
features
Red Sea barbels reach a maximum length of 28 centimeters, but usually stay at 25 centimeters. They are relatively elongated. The standard length is 3.65 to 4.2 times the body height. Females grow slightly larger than males. The head profile of the red mullet is much steeper than that of the striped mullet . Your two goatees are shorter to the same length as the pectoral fins. Their coloring is variable. The fins are unpatterned.
- Fin formula : dorsal VIII / 9, anal 7, pectoral 14-17.
- Gill rake 7-9 + 23-26 (total 30-34).
The most striking characteristic of the Red Sea barb is a broad black stripe that extends over the upper half of the body from the mouth over the eyes to below the end of the second dorsal fin. Above the stripe the animals are lightly brownish or gray-greenish stripes, underneath white. The edges of the scales are yellow. There is a black spot on the tail stalk. It is yellow above the spot and white below. The caudal fin is yellow. The second dorsal fin and anal fin have narrow blue and yellow stripes. The peritoneum is light.
Way of life
The red sea barb is the most common species of red sea mullet in the shallow water regions of the Red Sea. It usually occurs over sandy bottoms near coral reefs . She looks for her food consisting of small crustaceans, bristle worms and molluscs with the help of her barbels equipped with taste and touch cells and is often accompanied by alien fish, especially wrasse and sea bream , which eat the scared bottom animals.
literature
- Randall, JE, 2004. Revision of the goatfish genus Parupeneus (Perciformes: Mullidae), with descriptions of two new species. Indo-Pac. Fish. (36): 64 p.
- Hans A. Baensch / Robert A. Patzner: Mergus Sea Water Atlas Volume 7 Perciformes (perch-like) , Mergus-Verlag, Melle, 1998, ISBN 3-88244-107-0
Web links
- Red Sea Barbel on Fishbase.org (English)