Sargocentron rubrum
Πληροφορίες
The redcoat squirrelfish is a shallow-water species usually found in rocky areas and protected habitats such as bays and lagoons at depths of 10–40 m. It is a nocturnal species, and spends most of the daylight hours in the shade of rock crevices, usually in areas subject to strong currents. It schools in small groups in many cases but is also found singly. It feeds mainly on benthic crabs and shrimps, but also preys on small fishes.
Reproductive season in the Mediterranean Levant lasts from July to August.
There is no similar native species in the Mediterranean. The colour pattern in combination with the stout spine on the cheek distinguishes this fish from all other Mediterranean species.
Its closest relative, Sargocentron hastatum, occurs in the eastern Atlantic but until now has not been recorded in the Mediterranean Sea. It is red with white and yellow stripes (the white ones narrower than the red) and has distinctive black spots on the first two spines of the dorsal fins.
This is an Indo-West Pacific species, occurring from the Red Sea to the western Pacific, from southern Japan to Australia. In the Mediterranean it was first recorded in Palestine in 1947, and subsequently in Lebanon, Rhodes, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, and Libya.
The redcoat squirrelfish is considered to be one of the first fish species to have spread into the Mediterranean.
The lack of nocturnal competitors may have facilitated the population growth and spread of the non-indigenous redcoat squirrelfish in the Mediterranean. In the Levant, the redcoat is now one of the most common species, easily encountered in small groups of 5–10 individuals among rocks and in caverns at depths of 15–40 m. It shares the habitat with Apogon imberbis, an indigenous Mediterranean species.
At some sites its spread onto artificial reefs has been correlated with a decrease in numbers of several indigenous groupers and sparids. However, more studies will be needed to reveal its interactions with prey and competitors. Its daily migration out of the cave to forage at night and back in the morning could increase the transfer of organic matter into the cave and thereby have an impact on the cave-associated invertebrate fauna.
The redcoat is caught in small numbers mainly by trammel net or occasionally by hook and line, mainly at night at depths of 20–40 m. Some reports have associated increased catches of this species with a decline in the number of groupers and other commercial species caught.
Golani, D. & A. Ben-Tuvia, 1985. The biology of the Indo-Pacific squirrelfish, Sargocentron rubrum (Forsskål), a Suez Canal migrant to the eastern Mediterranean. J . Fish Biol. 27, 249-258.
