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Trees- ShrubsBrown Meagre ( Sciaena umbra )
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S. umbra typically have black anal and pelvic fins with white spines on the edges (1). They are covered in melanophores with the exception of the posterior end of their caudal fin; the melanophores give them their mottled brown appearance (2). Individuals can grow up to 70cm in length (2).
S. umbra is coastal species that prefers to inhabit rocky bottoms (2) and has a depth range of 5-200m (1) (3). They are commonly found near the entrances of caves and under overhangs (1), as well as in estuaries (4) and seagrass beds (1).
In the Mediterranean, the spawning season is from March to August. During the spawning season, the male emits grunting noises by using his long swim bladder muscles, peritoneum and tail muscles, hence often referred to as drums (1).
S. umbra inhabits the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Canary Islands and Cape Verde (1).
S. umbra is not recorded as a migratory species.
S. umbra are nocturnal, they live in pairs or small groups. They can remain still in the water and hover by undulating their dorsal and caudal fins (1).
S. umbra feeds upon small fish, crustaceans (shrimps) and molluscs (1).
Not evaluated under the IUCN Redlist (5).
Description written by Nikkita Lawton (2009)
(1) Debelius, H. (1998). Guia de peces del Mediterraneo y Atlantico. Grupo Editorial M7G Diifusion, S. L. pp. 185
(2) Fishbase. Sciaena umbra. [Accessed 29 June 2009] www.fishbase.org
(3) Chauvet, C. (1991). Le corb ou brown meagre (Sciaena umbra – Linnaeus, 1758) quelques éléments de sa biologie. In: C.F. Boudouresque, M. Avon and V. Gravez (eds.) Les espèces marines à protéger en Méditerranée. GIS Posidonie pp. 229-235.
(4) Frimodt, C. (1995). Multilingual illustrated guide to the world’s commercial warm water fish. Fishing News Books, Osney Mead, Oxford, England. pp. 215
(5) IUCN (2009). IUCN Red List. [Accessed 29 June 2009] http://www.iucnredlist.org
