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Diplodus sargus

20101202_N3993a_Diplodus sargus - Sarago maggiore - mare Adriatico, Bari

Diplodus sargus

Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Osteichthyes
Classis: Actinopterygii
Subclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Superordo: Acanthopterygii
Ordo: Perciformes
Subordo: Percoidei
Superfamilia: Percoidea
Familia: Sparidae
Genus: Diplodus
Species: D. sargus

Vernacular names
Català: Sarg, Sard
Deutsch: Zweibindenbrassen
Ελληνικά: Σαργός
Français: Sar à tête noire
Hrvatski: Šarag
Italiano: Sarago maggiore
Русский: Сарг
Slovenščina: Frater

Diplodus sargus, called White seabream and Sargo, is a species of seabream native to the eastern Atlantic and western Indian Oceans.[1] It is found from the Bay of Biscay southwards to South Africa, including Madeira and the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean and (rarely) the Black Sea. Occasionally individuals are found off the Indian Ocean coasts of South Africa, Mozambique and Madagascar, and they are very rarely found elsewhere in the Indian Ocean, such as off Oman. An active fish, they inhabit the surf zone, but they may be found down to 50 m.

They consume small crustaceans, mollusks and some seaweed and coral, using their strong jaws to crush shells. Individuals can reach 45 cm, but average 22 cm.

Diplodus sargus are protandrous hermaphrodites, with individuals starting out life as males, and some becoming female later on.

It is commercially fished, with 3,713 t taken in 2008.[1] Some are reared using aquacultural techniques. The catch is eaten immediately or marketed locally, as the flesh tastes good only when fresh.

Two US Navy submarines were named for this nimble fish, USS Sargo (SS-188) and USS Sargo (SSN-583).

Subspecies

The species has seven good subspecies, which are found in particular locales:

Diplodus sargus ascensionis (Valenciennes, 1830), off Ascension Island
Diplodus sargus cadenati (de la Paz, et al., 1974), off the European and West African coasts, and off Madeira and the Canary Islands
Diplodus sargus capensis (Smith, 1846): off Angola, South Africa and Mozambique
Diplodus sargus helenae (Sauvage, 1879): off Saint Helena Island
Diplodus sargus kotschyi (Steindachner, 1876): off Madagascar and other places in the Indian Ocean
Diplodus sargus lineatus (Valenciennes, 1830): off the Cape Verde Islands
Diplodus sargus sargus (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Mediterranean and Black Seas


References

^ a b "Diplodus sargus". Fisheries Global Information System. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 04 May 2011.

Biology Encyclopedia

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Source: Wikipedia, Wikispecies: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License