Serranus (Serranus) scriba (Linnaeus, 1758)

Iwamoto, Tomio & Wirtz, Peter, 2018, A Synopsis of the Eastern and Central Atlantic Combers of the Genus Serranus (Teleostei: Scorpaeniformes: Serranidae), Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 65 (1), pp. 1-39 : 27-29

Serranus (Serranus) scriba (Linnaeus, 1758)

Figures 23– 24

Perca Scriba Linnaeus, 1758 (no locality)

Holocentrus argus Spinola, 1807 .

Serranus scriba : Risso 1827:374.

Serranellus scriba : Jordan and Eigenmann 1890.

Paracentropristis scriba : Fowler 1936:766-768.

DIAGNOSIS.— D X,14–16; P 13–16; A III,7–8; gill rakers usually 7+12–14 (15–19 total); pored lateral-line scales 61–69 (60–73); circumpeduncular scales 36–41; scales below origin of first dorsal fin 6–9, below first branched ray 7–9. Scales on chest and cheek cycloid; all fins scaly along basal quarter or more. Caudal fin truncate or emarginate. Anterior nostril tube-like, with rim posteriorly developed into a tall fringed flap; posterior nostril with low, fringed anterior rim. Usually two (and often more) broad dark bands on body, a large white to bluish blotch on abdomen (in life); prominent reticulate to vermiform lines on head, and black horizontal stripe on snout, usually extending through eye onto dorsal margin of gill cover.

DESCRIPTION.— Body deep, about 33–37% SL; head low, profile of nape rises steeply into prominent arch; length of head 35–40% of SL; snout sharply pointed, 3.7–4.1 times in HL, orbit 5–6 times in HL, upper jaw slightly shorter than lower jaw. Dorsal profile of head rises in gentle curve, then abruptly ascends behind orbits to form a high, arched nape; profile peaking under middle of spinous dorsal before descending to caudal peduncle.

Premaxillary teeth canine-like in outer series, with narrow inner band of smaller teeth; dentary teeth in narrow band in front, band tapering to one row posteriorly; teeth at anterior and posterior ends largest. Teeth on vomer in narrow V-shaped band; those on palatines in one or two irregular series.

Margins of spinous dorsal fin moderately incised; spines increase gradually in height to peak at 4 th or 5 th spine, becoming shorter thereafter; in adults, no notch or indentation in fin outline where spinous and soft rays join, but juveniles have a slight indentation. Anal fin high, longest ray about equal to or higher than longest ray of dorsal fin; first anal spine 1.5–1.9 into second and third spines, which are more or less of equal length. Pectoral fin broad based, slightly pointed at tip; pectoral and pelvic fins fall short of anal-fin origin, a short streamer developed in pelvic fins between first and second rays in larger specimens.

Body fully covered with small ctenoid scales except on chest where scales cycloid; naked areas on head include snout, infraorbital bones, lower jaws, gular and branchiostegal membranes, and top of head posteriorly to beginning of nape; all opercular bones, pectoral-fin base, and chest scaled. Branchiostegal membrane and maxilla partially scaled in some specimens.

Color of live specimens ( Figs. 23 , 24 ): Head with vermiform to reticulate pattern of light and dark lines; body with two to five broad to narrow brown to black bands that extend onto dorsal fin; the pattern with two broad dark bands appears to be typical in the eastern Atlantic and parts of the southwestern Mediterranean, the pattern with more, and often paired, narrower bands typical in the Mediterranean; the last band, caudal peduncle, and caudal fin often orange or yellow; tips of dorsal spines reddish-brown to scarlet; often a large bright-blue spot on sides of belly.

Color of preserved specimen: Dark brownish overall, underside of head and chest paler, dorsal surfaces of head and all of nape dark, a horizontal dark stripe running from tip of upper jaw onto snout, through middle of eye onto dorsal margin of preopercle and opercle; a broad dark band below 5 th to 9 th dorsal spines; a darker band from base of 3 rd dorsal soft ray to end of dorsal fin, narrowing ventrally and terminating at posterior half of anal-fin base onto anterior one-third or so of caudal peduncle. Head with irregular pale reticulate lines; upper jaw with blackish tip and series of four or more dark bands on maxillary; lower lip marked with dark bands; mandibular ramus with bold dark spots. Dorsal fin generally dark above the two broad body bands, the distal margin of soft dorsal fin with irregular speckling of small clear spots arranged in vertical to diagonal lines; anal fin with prominent sharp stripes distally; caudal fin relatively pale and lacking prominent markings; pectoral fin dusky with paler outer margins; pelvic fin blackish.

Size: To 36 cm TL.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION.— Over rocky bottoms from the shore to 150 m. Known from the Bay of Biscay to Senegal, including the Canary Islands but not the Azores , Madeira and the Cape Verde Islands ; also in the Mediterranean and Black seas .

SPECIMENS EXAMINED (9 spec.).— France : CAS 238841 (ex. IU 7078 ) (3, 90. 5–139 mm SL); Paris Market ; collector D.S. Jordan. Italy : CAS 238072 (1, 131 mm SL); Mediterranean ; Sicily; collector P. Doderlein, 1886 . CAS-SU 20897 (2, 90.5–143. 5 mm SL); Mediterranean; Naples ; collector E.C. Starks. Mauritania : CAS 235486 (1, 161 mm SL); 18°36.93ʹN, 16°36.9ʹW; 30 m ; R / V Dr Fridtjof Nansen CCLME Survey 2012, sta. 139, 3 June 2012. Senegal : CAS 15905 (2, 174– 187 mm SL); Dakar; collector A.I. Good, 10 Nov. 1938 .

Figures

FIGURE 23. Serranus scriba from El Cabrón dive site near Arinaga, Grande Canary Is., Canary Islands. Photograph by Rogelio Herrera.

FIGURE 24. Serranus scriba from Ibiza Island, western Mediterranean Sea. Photograph by Robert Patzner.