Dicentrarchus labrax ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

Çiçek, Erdoğan, Fricke, Ronald, Sungur, Sevil, Çapar, Osman Bahadir & Golani, Daniel, 2023, Freshwater fishes of Israel; a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023, Zootaxa 5369 (4), pp. 451-484 : 474-475

Dicentrarchus labrax ( Linnaeus, 1758) [N]—European seabass; Labrak halak

Taxonomy. Original description: Perca labrax Linnaeus, 1758: 290 [Southern Europe, Mediterranean Sea; syntypes: BMNH 1853.11.12.1 (1, skin)].— Israel synonyms: Morone labrax ( Linnaeus, 1758) .—Revisions: None.—Illustration: Tortonese in Whitehead et al. (1986: 794, fig.).

Status in Israel. First record in freshwater from Israel by Yashouv (1969); confirmed by Goren & Ortal (1999), Golani & Mires (2000).—Israel material: HUJ.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Israel: Mediterranean watersheds.—Distribution in River Basin: 1- Western Basin, 2-Dead Sea Basin.—General distribution: Western Baltic Sea; North Sea; Mediterranean Sea; Sea of Marmara; Black Sea; Eastern Atlantic: Norway and Iceland south to Senegal, including Madeira; Red Sea: Gulf of Suez (Mediterranean Sea immigrant).—Distribution in Ecoregion: 436-Coastal Levant, 438- Jordan River.— Habitat: This species is pelagic, near shore, and sometimes in lagoons and estuaries. It spawns at sea. Freshwater, brackish, marine.

Economic importance. Commercially important.

Conservation. Conservation status in Israel: Unknown.—IUCN: LC ( IUCN 2023).—Threats: No major threats known.—Low sensitivity to human activities.—Not considered a keystone species.—Decline status: Unknown.— Low priority for conservation action.

Conservation. This species is naturally found in Mediterranean watersheds. It is introduced to inland water systems.