Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Sparidae (Porgies)
Etymology: Acanthopagrus: Greek, akantha = thorn + Greek, pagros, a kind of fish (Ref. 45335); arabicus: Named for its type locality, the Arabian Sea including The Gulf.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; pelagic-neritic; depth range ? - 50 m (Ref. 11441). Tropical
Western Indian Ocean: from Duqum, southern Oman to Qatar, off the coasts of Kuwait (probably including Iran and Pakistan), to Trivandrum, south-western India.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 34.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4606); common length : 30.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3507)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 11 - 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10 - 11; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8. This species is distinguished from its congeners by the following set of characters: deep body, 2.03-2.38 (mean 2.21); D XI,11 or XII,10; scale rows between fifth dorsal-fin spine base and lateral line 4 1/2, scale rows above lateral line 4 1/2-5 1/2, scale rows below 12 1/2-13 1/2; second anal-fin spine [17.5-24.2% (mean 20·5%) of SL], 1.31-1.52 (mean 1.39) in 2AS/3AS; pored lateral-line scales 42-45 (mean 43.9); first soft dorsal-fin ray slightly longer than last dorsal-fin spine; pelvic and anal fins vivid or strong yellow, lower caudal-fin lobe yellow (lighter or whitish yellow in larger adults); no black streaks proximally on inter-radial membranes between yellow anal-fin rays; clear black
blotches are usually absent just beneath inter-radial membranes between dorsal-fin rays but upper
dorsal-fin membrane often with darker margin; at the origin of lateral line a weak diffuse dark blotch usually covering first pored lateral-line scale, continuing as a dense dark shading over upper part of posterior opercle (Ref. 93743).
Body shape (shape guide): short and / or deep; Cross section: compressed.
Feeds mainly on echinoderms, worms, crustaceans and mollusks. Mainly exploited by artisanal fisheries. Sold fresh in markets (Ref. 3507).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Iwatsuki, Y., 2013. Review of the Acanthopagrus latus complex (Perciformes: Sparidae) with descriptions of three new species from the Indo-West Pacific Ocean. J. Fish Biol. 83(1):64-95. (Ref. 93743)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
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