SPARIDAE


Acanthopagrus berda, 12.1 cm SL
(photo by Yukio Iwatsuki)


Gymnocranius griseus
(Forsskål, 1775)
Picnic Seabream

D XI, 11; A III, 8; P1 15; LLp 42-44; 3 1/2 scale rows between 5th dorsalfin spine base and lateral line; ventral edge of anterior two infraorbitals with a strongly curved concavity, clearly observed in specimens over 20 cm.

Body deep and moderately compressed; mouth slightly oblique; lips thick; lower jaw slightly included; 4-6 curved canines anteriorly in upper jaw, 4-6 in lower jaw; preopercular flange no scales; 2nd anal spine robust, clearly longer than 3rd. Color: body dull olive-dark brown above, below pale to whitish with dark silver and brassy reflections. Size: maximum length probably about 70 cm SL but commonly 20-35 cm. Distribution: Indo-West Pacific from South Africa, through Red Sea and the Indian Coast, to western Pacific. Remarks: occurring in estuaries, lower reaches of coastal rivers and mangroves in juvenile, and then, migrating to coastal waters in larger specimens with growth.