Macroramphosus scolopax (Linnaeus, 1758)

Murat Bilecenoglu, 2006, Status of the genus Macroramphosus (Syngnathiformes: Centriscidae) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea., Zootaxa 1273, pp. 55-64 : 57

Macroramphosus scolopax (Linnaeus, 1758)

(Figure 2A)

Material examined: ESFM-PIS/9602, 4 specimens, 56-96 mm SL, northern Cyprus (35º24’N - 33º07’E), 540 m, 10 July 1996 ; ESFM-PIS/0409, 5 specimens, 66-106 mm SL, Kusadasi Bay (37º56’N - 27º01’E), 140-150 m, 22 March 2004 .

Description: First dorsal finrays V -VI, second dorsal finrays 11-13, anal finrays 18-19, pectoral finrays 16, caudal finrays 19-22. Body compressed and deep (maximum body depth 3.71 to 4.60 times in SL); widest point passing through a vertical line above pelvic fins. Body height sharply descending between the first soft ray of second dorsal fin and the caudal peduncle, forming a significant hump. Head elongate with long and tubular snout. Mouth opening very small, toothless, and located at tip of snout. Eye large, its diameter greater than postocular head length; located close to dorsum of head, bearing a prominent supraorbital crest; a patch of small spinules on the anterior part of the eye (Figure 3A). First dorsal fin originating above anus; second spine strong, greatly enlarged with serrated posterior edge (total number of denticules 14-23, mean=17.57), extending beyond second dorsal fin base. Body covered with small and finely toothed scales, giving the body a sandpapery feel. Two series of bony plates embedded in the skin on the back between head and dorsal fin, each series consisting of three well-developed plates and a fourth much smaller plate; posterior edge of each plate serrated in adults. Ventral body profile convex; ventral scutes protruding; a prominent projecting scute between the pelvic and anal fins (Figure 4A). Fresh specimens of both juveniles and adults are orange, red or pinkish on the back; paler and silvery on the sides. Three or four red blotches generally occur (adults) on the second spine of first dorsal fin. Morphometric values are given in Table 1.

Distribution and biology: M. scolopax is a cosmopolitan species, probably with a worldwide distribution. It occurs throughout the Mediterranean Sea (excluding the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea; Bilecenoglu et al., 2002), Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, mainly in tropical and temperate latitudes between 20º and 40º N (Ehrich, 1975, 1986; Fritzsche, 2002).

The species is known to inhabit depths down to 500 m or more, but is more abundant between 50 - 200 m (Wheeler, 1973; Fischer et al., 1987). A school of M. scolopax was previously observed by the author at an exceptional depth of 6 m along Kas coasts (eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey), during 1995. Age and growth parameters of M. scolopax are available only from the Atlantic Ocean, revealing a short life span (maximum of six years) and a fast growth (Ehrich, 1976; Brethes, 1979; Borges, 2000). The species is a benthic feeder; stomach contents of specimens from Moroccon coasts and Great Meteor Seamount generally included foraminifers associated with non-living bottom material (i.e. sand) and crustaceans (Ehrich, 1976; Brethes, 1979; Matthiessen et al., 2003). In Japanese coast, M. scolopax feeds on crustaceans, especially amphipods (Miyazaki et al., 2004). Maximum known size for the species is 22.8 cm total length (Borges, 2001); however, lengths exceeding 16.0 cm are uncommon.