Mediterranean cardinalfish
(Apogon imberbis)
General data
Apogon imberbis, the cardinalfish, the Mediterranean cardinalfish or king of the mullets, is a species of ray-finned fish, a cardinalfish belonging to the family Apogonidae. It is widely distributed in the Mediterranean and along the warm temperate and tropical eastern Atlantic coasts from Portugal south to the Gulf of Guinea.
Description
Apogon imberbis has a compressed, ovate body with a large head and a very large eye. It has a large, oblique mouth with a protruding lower jaw, which contains rows of small villiform teeth on the mandible, palatine and vomer. The preopercular margin is only slightly serrated and the preopercular ridge is smooth. The pectoral fin is long, reaching to at least the origin of anal fin and the caudal fin shows slight emargination.
The scales are large and ctenoid in form, and the lateral line numbers 22-30 scales.
The body and fins are coloured red or pink, duskier on the back and upper surface of head. There are two or three dark spots, which are occasionally joined, along base of caudal fin.
The maximum recorded size is 15 cm standard length, although 10–12 cm is more usual.
The two dorsal fins have a total of 7 spines and 9-10 soft rays 9-10; the anal fin has 2 spines and 8-9 soft rays.
Distribution
Apogon imberbis is widely distributed in the eastern Atlantic from Gibraltar and southern Portugal to Angola and includes the Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores, Cape Verde Islands and the islands of the Gulf of Guinea. It is found throughout the Mediterranean Sea but does not extend north into the Black Sea.
