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Selene dorsalis (Gill, 1863)

African moonfish
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Selene dorsalis   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Carangiformes (Jacks) > Carangidae (Jacks and pompanos) > Caranginae
Etymology: Selene: Greek, selene = moon (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Gill.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range 20 - 100 m (Ref. 4233), usually ? - 60 m (Ref. 57392). Subtropical; 39°N - 28°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic Ocean: Madeira, Canarias, Cabo Verde and from Senegal to Namibia. Replaced by Selene setapinnis in western Atlantic. These two species have not been adequately studied and may prove to be conspecific.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 57392); common length : 24.0 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3195); max. published weight: 1.5 kg (Ref. 27584)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 23 - 24; Anal spines: 1 - 3; Anal soft rays: 18 - 20. Diagnosis: body short, deep (depth comprised 1.7-2.3 times in fork length) and strongly compressed; head with a typical hump above eyes and a steep frontal profile that is slightly concave in front of eyes; lower jaw prominent; 2 dorsal fins, 1st with 8 spines that are very short in adults, 2nd with 1 spine and 23 or 24 soft rays; anal fin with 2 anterior detached spines (resorbed in adults), followed by 1 spine and 18-20 soft rays; anterior lobes of soft dorsal and anal fins small or indistinct; pelvic fins very short, nearly rudimentary; body (except breast) entirely covered with minute cycloid scales embedded in the skin; lateral line distinctly arched over pectoral fins, with some weak scutes on the straight posterior part; 2 lateral keels at base of caudal fin (Ref. 57392). Silvery with faint dusky opercular spot; juveniles with oval black spot over straight lateral line (Ref. 3197). Coloration: entirely silvery with bluish reflections that are more pronounced on dorsal half; a blackish spot at upper angle of gill cover; in juveniles, another blackish spot on sides of body, at the inflexion point of the lateral line; fins hyaline (Ref. 57392).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults usually found near the bottom (Ref. 4233, 57392). Occasionally enters lagoons and estuaries, especially during juvenile stage (Ref. 57392). Juveniles occur in surface waters often near bays and river mouths (Ref. 4233). Form schools (Ref. 4233, 57392). Feed on crustaceans and small fishes (Ref. 4233). Eggs are pelagic (Ref. 4233).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Smith-Vaniz, William F. | Collaborators

Smith-Vaniz, W.F., 1986. Carangidae. p. 815-844. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO, Paris. vol. 2. (Ref. 4233)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 10 May 2013

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
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References

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 18.3 - 25.9, mean 20.6 °C (based on 42 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5039   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01479 (0.00872 - 0.02508), b=2.89 (2.75 - 3.03), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.69 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 1.8 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.6).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (25 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Low to moderate vulnerability (35 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   High.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 118 [67, 251] mg/100g; Iron = 1.51 [0.87, 2.91] mg/100g; Protein = 19.1 [17.3, 21.4] %; Omega3 = 0.468 [0.293, 0.802] g/100g; Selenium = 26.2 [13.7, 52.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 8.85 [2.81, 26.09] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.768 [0.545, 1.101] mg/100g (wet weight);