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Apogon imberbis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Cardinal fish
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Apogon imberbis   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Apogon imberbis (Cardinal fish)
Apogon imberbis
Female picture by Patzner, R.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Kurtiformes (Nurseryfishes, cardinalfishes.) > Apogonidae (Cardinalfishes) > Apogoninae
Etymology: Apogon: Greek, a = without + Greek pogon = chin, beard (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 10 - 200 m (Ref. 4738). Subtropical; 45°N - 5°S, 32°W - 36°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea: Portugal to Morocco and the Azores. Elsewhere, southward to Gulf of Guinea.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - 5.5 cm
Max length : 15.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4738); max. reported age: 5 years (Ref. 93355)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 10; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 8 - 9. Eye very large, much greater than snout. Pectoral fin long, reaching at least origin of anal fin. Preopercular edge only slightly serrated, preopercular ridge smooth. Body and fins red or pink, back and upper surface of head dusky. Two or three dark spots, sometimes joined, along base of caudal fin.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occasionally forms schools; sometimes solitary. Inhabits muddy or rocky bottoms and caves (Ref. 4738). A sciaphilous species thriving in a number of shady/dark habitats and frequents marine caves, where it forms large schools (Ref. 118281). Feeds on small invertebrates and fishes (Ref. 4738). Observed to feed in the water column and just over the bottom, always at night; 93.4% of observed events occurring outside the caves, usually on rocky bottoms and Posidonia oceanica meadows, and to a lesser extent on pebbles (Ref. 118281). Oral brooding by males (Ref. 4738).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Males incubate eggs in buccal cavity (Ref. 205, 4738, 74407). Embryos do not feed externally in the buccal cavity. Distinct pairing during courtship and spawning (Ref. 205). Internal fertilization and paternal care by mouthbrooding is found to be a rare combination of reproductive strategy (Ref. 74407). Also Ref. 240.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Tortonese, E., 1986. Apogonidae. p. 803-809. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO, Paris. vol. 2. (Ref. 4738)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 13 July 2012

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; bait:
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 13.3 - 20.9, mean 16.3 °C (based on 216 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01096 (0.00658 - 0.01826), b=3.11 (2.97 - 3.25), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.4   ±0.61 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 1.2 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.90; tmax=5).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (15 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   High.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 56.5 [28.7, 122.3] mg/100g; Iron = 0.811 [0.475, 1.384] mg/100g; Protein = 19.7 [18.6, 20.7] %; Omega3 = 0.291 [0.167, 0.487] g/100g; Selenium = 18.6 [8.6, 36.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 54.9 [18.0, 172.0] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.05 [0.67, 1.59] mg/100g (wet weight);