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Blacktail
Diplodus capensis (Smith, 1844)
Also calledGroße Geißbrasse (deu) · Intimla (xho) · Kolstert (afr) · Sar Commun Du Cap (fra) · Sargo Común Del Cabo (spa) · Sargo Del Cabo (spa) · Sargo-africâner (por) · mořan kapský (ces) · 暗帶重牙鯛 (zho) · 黑尾重牙鯛 (zho)
Diplodus capensis, the Cape white seabream or blacktail seabream, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sparidae, which includes the seabreams and porgies. This fish is found around the coasts of Southern Africa.
Descriptions from checklists and floras indexed by GBIF
description
Description. Counts and proportional measurements of Diplodus capensis are shown in Table 1. Body deep and compressed, its depth 44.9 – 49.5 % of SL; head somewhat small 28.9 – 34.6 % of SL; dorsal profile of head slightly convex; mouth small and horizontal; maxilla reaching to below anterior edge of eye completely hidden under suborbitals when mouth closed; scale rows 7 on cheek; gill rakers small and 17 – 18 in number, nine to ten on lower arch; four pairs of projecting incisor teeth in upper jaw and lower jaw; side of jaws with small rows of molar teeth (three to four pairs in upper jaw and two to three rows in lower jaw); first dorsal spine is smallest (4.4 – 6.8 % of SL) while fourth and fifth (13 – 15.7 % of SL) longest; first anal-fin spine short (6.9 – 7.8 % of SL), 2 nd and 3 rd anal spines subequal (approx. 10 % of SL); caudal fin forked; upper lobe of caudal fin is slightly longer than lower one; pectoral-fins reaching to anal spine.
The sparid fishes of Pakistan, with new distribution records
diagnosis
Diagnosis. Distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characters: dorsal-fin rays XII, 13 – 14; pectoral-fin rays 16; anal-fin rays III, 13; pored lateral line scales 55 – 58; scale rows above and below lateral line 7 ½ and 17 ½; scale rows between the 5 th dorsal-fin spine base and lateral line 6 ½; no scales on preopercular flange; gill rakers 17 – 18, 9 – 10 on the lower limb; 2 nd anal-fin spine (2 AS) subequal to 3 rd anal-fin spine, its ratio (2 AS / 3 AS) 1.0 – 1.3 (mean 1.1); least infraorbital depth 8.0 – 9.3 % of SL; ten narrow dusky bars on upper two thirds of body (very visible in juvenile stages), a large black blotch anteriorly on top of caudal peduncle extending to ventral margin.
The sparid fishes of Pakistan, with new distribution records
discussion
Remarks. Bianchi (1985) reported Diplodus sargus kotschyi from Pakistan. Randall (1995), later on, reported Diplodus sargus kotschyi (now a synonym of D. sargus) from Arabian Gulf to northwestern India and Diplodus sargus capensis (now Diplodus capensis) from Angola, South Africa, southern Madagascar and Oman. However, Diplodus sargus is currently known from Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and eastern Atlantic (Madeira) whereas D. capensis inhabits Angola to South Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius (Mascarenes) and Oman, (Eschmeyer, 2013). Our specimens closely fit the description of Diplodus capensis although there are some variations from the nominal taxon. Heemstra and Heemstra (2004) mentioned XII, 14 – 15 dorsal-fin rays, 16 – 17 pectoral-fin rays and anal-fin rays III, 13 – 14. Randall (1995) reported 14 – 15 soft dorsal rays, 16 – 17 pectoral rays, 13 – 14 anal-rays, lateral line scales 62 – 72, gill rakers 6 – 8 + 8 – 11 and body depth 2.0 – 2.25 of SL. In our specimens there are XII, 13 – 14 dorsalfin rays, 16 pectoral-fin rays, 13 anal-fin rays, 55 – 58 pored lateral line scales, gill rakers 17 – 18, 9 – 10 on the lower limb and body depth 2 – 2.25 of SL. Day (1875) reported Dipl
The sparid fishes of Pakistan, with new distribution records
distribution
Distribution. Southeastern Atlantic: Angola to South Africa; southwestern Indian Ocean: South Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, Oman, Iran and Pakistan.
The sparid fishes of Pakistan, with new distribution records
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
Diplodus capensis has a deep, oval body with a thin lipped, slightly protrusible mouth. There are 8 incisor-like teeth in the front of each jaw with 3 rows of molar-like teeth in the upper and 2 rows in the lower jaw. The dorsal fin is supported by 12 spines and 14 or 15 soft rays while the anal fin is supported by 3 spines and 13 or 14 soft rays. The large adults are a uniform silvery-grey colour with a large saddle-shaped black blotch on the caudal peduncle while the juveniles are marked with indistinct vertical bars. The maximum published total length for this species is 45 cm (18 in), although 30 cm (12 in) is more typical.
Range & habitat
Diplodus capensis is endemic to the waters off Southern Africa in both the southeastern Atlantic and southwestern Indian Oceans. It has a disjunct distribution with one population occurring southern Angola and Namibia and the other from Cape Point east and north to southern Mozambique. It is also found off southern Madagascar and has been reported from Mauritius. This species occurs at depths between 0 and 50 m (0 and 164 ft), the adults are found over sandy and rocky substrates in shallow water while the juveniles are found on shallow reefs, at the mouths of estuaries, in tidal pools and in the surf zone on sandy beaches.
In human culture
Diplodus capensis has the specific name capensis which means "of the Cape", a reference to its type locality in, what was then, the Cape Colony.
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Every page naming Diplodus capensis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
From the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence records (GBIF.org), with Wikipedia and the Source Library. GBIF species 5210964.