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Labrus merula  Linnaeus, 1758

Brown wrasse
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Labrus merula   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Labrus merula (Brown wrasse)
Labrus merula
Picture by Pontes, M.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Labridae (Wrasses)
Etymology: Labrus: Name from Latin 'labrum' for lip, rim or edge; referring to the big lips of the fishes of the genus (from Ovid and Pliny according to Petrus Artedi)..   More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated.   Subtropical, preferred 14°C (Ref. 107945); 46°N - 20°N, 32°W - 36°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: Portugal to Morocco and Azores. Also in the Mediterranean.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 15 - 20 cm
Max length : 45.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4742); common length : 40.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4742); max. reported age: 17 years (Ref. 4742)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults are found around rocks and seaweeds. Sometime schooling, more solitary when older. Feed on sea urchins, ophiuroids, mollusks, crabs and worms. They reach maturity when 2 years old (15-20 cm). Spawn during February to May in western Mediterranean (Ref. 4742). Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205). Males build dish shaped nests and guard the eggs (Ref. 205).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205). Males build dish shaped nests and guard the eggs (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Westneat, Mark | Collaborators

Bauchot, M.-L., 1987. Poissons osseux. p. 891-1421. In W. Fischer, M.L. Bauchot and M. Schneider (eds.) Fiches FAO d'identification pour les besoins de la pêche. (rev. 1). Méditerranée et mer Noire. Zone de pêche 37. Vol. II. Commission des Communautés Européennes and FAO, Rome. (Ref. 3397)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: commercial
FAO(Publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | Faunafri | Fishes of Iran | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 0.5625   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00955 (0.00603 - 0.01513), b=3.09 (2.96 - 3.22), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  3.6   ±0.5 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.22-0.36; tmax=17).
Prior r = 0.61, 2 SD range = 0.4 - 0.92, log(r) = -0.49, SD log(r) = 0.21, Based on: 1 M, 2 K, 1 tgen, 1 tmax, records
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.