Acanthopagrus berda ( Forsskål, 1775 ), Forsskal, 1775

Siddiqui, Pirzada Jamal, Amir, Shabir Ali & Masroor, Rafaqat, 2014, The sparid fishes of Pakistan, with new distribution records, Zootaxa 3857 (1), pp. 71-100 : 74-76

Acanthopagrus berda ( Forsskål, 1775)

Common name: Picnic Seabream

Local names: Kala Dandya, Daleri (Sindh Coast); Tintle (Balochistan Coast) ( Figures 2 A , B & 15 C, D; Table 1 )

Sparus berda Forsskål, 1775: 32 (Al-Luhayya [Luhaiya], Yemen, Red Sea).

Chrysophrys calamara Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1830: 117 (Malabar, India).

Sparus calamara Cuvier, 1829: 182 (Vizagapatam, India, based on a drawing by Russell, 1803, pl. 92). Chrysophrys robinsoni Gilchrist & Thompson, 1908: 170 (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, southwestern Indian Ocean).

Diagnosis. Distinguished from all congeners of Acanthopagrus by the following combination of characters: dorsalfin rays XI, 11; anal-fin rays III, 8–9; pored lateral line scales 41–43; scale rows above and below lateral line 3½–4 and 11–12, respectively; scale rows between the fifth dorsal-fin spine base and lateral line 3½; no scales on preopercular flange; total gill rakers 14–16, 8–10 on the lower limb; 2nd anal-fin spine (2 AS) longer than 3rd anal-fin spine, its ratio (2 AS /3 AS) is 1.3–1.5 (mean 1.4); least infraorbital depth 4.2–4.4 % of SL; a strongly curved concavity (more so in fishes> 13cm SL) on ventral edge of first two infraorbitals above rear end of maxilla ( Fig. 2 A , B); silvery to blackish and sometime dark blackish in color.

Description. Body compressed and deep, its depth 44–47% of SL; head large 35–36% of SL; anterodorsal profile ascending steeply, occipital profile weakly convex above eye; eye moderate in size, orbit diameter 8.5–10.2% of SL; mouth slightly oblique, lips thick; maxilla reaching to middle of eye; upper jaw length 12–17% of SL; lower jaw slightly short and included; in both jaws, 4 to 6 canine like relatively large, compressed and curved (slightly) teeth in front of each jaws, followed by 3–4 rows of molariform teeth in lower jaw and 4–5 rows of teeth in upper jaw. Molar teeth on posterior portion of each jaw relatively large. No scales between mouth and eye, 5–6 transverse rows of scales on preopercle; dorsal-fin spines hard and asymmetrical, first one is smaller (7.0–9.0% of SL), third, fourth and fifth spines are sub equal (17–21% of SL); first anal-fin spine short (6.0–8.0% of SL), 2nd anal-fin spine heavy and long (21–23% of SL), 3rd anal-fin spine thin and shorter (15–16% of SL) than 2nd anal-fin spine; pectoral-fin ray reaching nearly to the mid of the anal-fin base; pelvic-fin spine thin and hard, longer (19–20% of SL) than snout, first pelvic-fin ray slightly produced, somewhat less than half of head length.

Color of fresh specimens. This fish is locally known “kala-dandya” because it is silvery black ( Fig. 2A ) to blackish in appearance ( Fig. 2 B). Color pattern changes according to habitat, sometimes dull dark olive–brown above, dull whitish or dark silver and brazen reflections below; lower part of head pale white, the rear edge of opercle dark; iris dark brownish; posterior membrane of each scale pocket and posterior edge of exposed scale darkest, the former usually more than the latter; dorsal-fin dusky, membrane of spinous dorsal-fin darker, a few, somewhat longitudinal, bands on membranes of soft dorsal; anal-fin with membranes of spinous portion and proximal half of soft portion usually black; caudal-fin membrane slightly darker brown than body, rear margin often darker; pectoral-fin yellowish to pale brown or dusky, faint dusky blotch at origin and axil; pelvic-fin pale dusky distally, membrane usually blackish.

Distribution. South Africa, Mozambique, the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, India, Pakistan, Phuket, Malaysia and near Singapore.

Remarks. The distributional range of Acanthopagrus berda is comparatively wider among other sparid species. This species can be distinguished from its congeners by having high body depth, 3½ scale rows between fifth dorsal-fin base to lateral line and a strongly curved concavity of the ventral edge of the first two infraorbitals above the rear end of the maxilla. According to Iwatsuki and Heemstra (2010), the important diagnostic characters for Acanthopagrus berda are still apparent in the holotype (ZMUC-P 50555, approximately 21 cm SL) from the Red Sea off Luhaiya, Yemen, but that holotype now comprises only the head and left side skin. There are striking variations in the color pattern of A. berda , two of these are commonly found in Pakistani specimens; Figure 2A with silvery and brassy appearance collected from Keti Bunder, Thatta District and Figure 2 B with completely blackish color, collected from Manora, Karachi.

Figures

FIGURE 2. a) Acanthopagrus berda, MUFS 39775 (formerly CEMB- P 201200137), 133.6 mm SL, Keti Bunder, Thatta, Sindh. Position of arrow indicates a slight concavity on ventral edge of first two infraorbitals, b) Acanthopagrus berda, 330 mm SL, Manora, Karachi, showing black morph. Position of arrow indicates strong curved concavity on ventral edge of first two infraorbitals.