Spicara smaris

Shahar Chaikin

Size range: 15 - 20 cm (22 cm) Europe and Mediterranean Marine Fish Identification guide, Patrick Louisy

Common size: 14 cm FishBase

Habitat:

  • Hard - rocky
  • Soft - sand
  • Vegetation - sea grass meadows

Water column position:

  • Pelagic-Neritic

Schooling characteristics:

  • Gregarious

Colors & patterns:

  • Males - mature males often with golden hue with somewhat broken lines, body deeper than in females but still slender.

Behavior:

  1. Whether the species is:
  • Reef-associated - related to sites it inhabits

2. Activity:

  • Diurnal

3. Approach:

  • Easily approached when feeding in open water

Native/Exotic:

Native

EM notes: description of special east Mediterranean characteristics.


May be confused with:

A school of Spicara smaris and Boops boops.

A spicara smaris (right) and Spicara maena (left) during a fish survey in Crete.