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Dentex maroccanus (Valenciennes, 1830)

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Synonyms

	Dentex parvulus Capello, 1867. Jorn. Sc. math. phys. nat., Lisboa 1 (3): 250, pl. 4 (fig. 2). Type lost in a fire of Bocage Museum.
	Diagramma maroccanus. Pellegrin, 1913: 153.

FAO Names

En - Morocco dentex, Fr - Denté du Maroc, Sp - Sama marroquí.

3Alpha Code: DEM Taxonomic Code: 1703906012

Scientific Name with Original Description
Dentex maroccanus Valenciennes, 1830, 1830, in Cuv. and Val. Hist. nat. Poiss. 6: 174 (Morocco). 1830. Holotype: ZMHU 8597.

Diagnostic Features

Body oval and compressed. Head profile rather regular, steeper in front of eye. Cheecks scaly; scales also on preopercle except at its posterior margin. Mouth low, very slightly oblique.
Several rows of canine-like teeth, outer row much the strongest with 4 to 6 very well developed anterior teeth in each jaw, the uppers visible when mouth is closed.
Gillrakers on first arch 9 to 12 lower and 7 to 9 upper. Dorsal fin with 12 spines and 10 or 11 soft rays, the spines increassing in length up to the fourth or fifth and subequal thereafter (longest spine 44 to 51% of head length). Anal fin with 3 spines and 8 or 9 soft rays. Scales slong lateral line 46 to 51.
Colour light red with silvery reflections; head darker and fins pinkish; distal part of dorsal and anal fins more intensely reddish; fork of caudal fin edged with dark red; a very small dark spot above pectoral fin insertions. Males display a more intense coloration during the spawning season.

Geographical Distribution
Southern and eastern Mediterranean; absent in Adriatic and Black Sea. Atlantic from Bay of Biscay to Gulf of Guinea, occasionally further north (Denmark sensu Nielsen, 1964).
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Habitat and Biology

Benthopelagic and demersal behaviour.Inshore waters on various types of bottom, mostly gravels or conglomerates, from 20 to about 500 m depth (Atlantic), 250 m (Mediterranean), abundance varying with depth according with the latitude.

Seasonal spawning activities between 50 to 100 m depth in Spring and Summer(Atlantic), Spring (Mediterranean); maturity at 10 cm (Mediterranean).
Carnivorous (mainly crustaceans and fish, secondarily molluscs).

Size
Maximum 45 cm; common to 25 cm

Interest to Fisheries
Fished south of Agadir, particularly south of Cape Blanc. Together with Dentex (Polysteganus) macrophthalmus, this is the most abundant among the Dentex species on the northwest African coast. Separate statistics are not reported for this species. Caught with bottom trawls and on line gear . Flesh esteemed. Marketed fresh or frozen; also used for fishmeal and oil.

Local Names

FRANCE : Denté du Maroc .

GERMANY : Marokko-zahnbrasse .

LEBANON : Boh'louq Gharby .

POLAND : Kielczak marokanski .

PORTUGAL : Cachucho-dentão , Dentão-de-Marrocos .

SPAIN : sama marroquí .

UNITED KINGDOM : Morocco dentex .

Remarks
Polysteganus Kluzinger, 1870 (subgenus). Verh. Zool.-Bot. Gesellschaft. Wien v. 20: 763 (type: Polysteganus coeruleopunctatus Kluzinger, 1870, by subs. design. of Jordan, 1919).

Bibliography

Bauchot, M.-L. - 1987. Sparidae. In: W. Fischer and M.-L. Bauchot and M. Schneider (eds). Fiches FAO d'Identification des espèces pour les besoins de la pêche (Révison 1). Méditerranée et mer Noire. Zone de pêche 37. Vol. II. Vértebrés: 761-1530.

Bauchot, M.-L., J.-C. Hureau & J.C. Miquel - 1981. Sparidae In: W. Fischer, G. Bianchi and W.Scott (eds). FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Eastern Central Atlantic; fishing areas 34, 47 (in part). Canada Funds-in-Trust. Ottawa, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, by arrangement with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, vol. IV : pag. Var.

Bauchot, M.-L. & J.-C. Hureau - 1990. Sparidae In: J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha. Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT-Portugal, SEI-France, Unesco. Vol. II: 790-812.

Bauchot, M.-L. & J.-C. Hureau - 1986. Sparidae. 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 (FNAM). Unesco, Paris. Vol. II: 883-907.

Capello, F. de Brito - 1867. Catálogo dos peixes de Portugal que existen no Museu de Lisboa. Jorn. Sc. math. phys. nat., Lisboa 1 (3): 233-264, fig., pl. 4, fig. 1-5; 307-313.

Klunzinger, C. - 1870. Synopsis der Fische des Rothen Meeres. I. Theil. Percoiden-Mugiloiden. Verh. K.-K. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien v. 20: 669-834. [Also as "Systematische Uebersicht der Fische des Rothen Meeres, als Anhang und Register zur Synopsis." Wien, 1871.]

Nielsen, J. - 1964. Two species of Sparidae (Pisces) new to the Danish fauna. Vidensk. Meddr dansk naturh. Foren., 126: 347-349, 1 pl.

Pellegrin, J. - 1913. Poissons marins de Guinée, de la Côte d'Ivoire, du Dahomey et du Congo. Mission de M. Gruvel. Bull. Soc. Zool. Fr., 38 (5): 151-158.

Tortonese, E. - 1973. Sparidae. In: J.-C. Hureau and Th. Monod (eds). Check-list of the fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and of the Mediterranean (CLOFNAM). Unesco, Paris, vol. I: 405-415.

Valenciennes, A. - 1830. Historie naturelle des poissons. In: G. Cuvier and A. Valenciennes. Historie naturelle des poissons. Tome Sixième. Livre sixième. Partie I. Des Sparoïdes: 1-425. in Strasbourg ed.



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