Anthias anthias (Linnaeus, 1758)

Body Size Proportion

Anthias anthias (Linnaeus, 1758) has a relatively deep body: its standard length is 2.5 times its body depth.

Dorsal Fin Structure

The dorsal fin has 10 spines (with the third spine being particularly long) and 15 soft rays.

Anal Fin Structure

The anal fin has three spines and seven soft rays.

Paired Fin Length

Pectoral fins are longer than pelvic fins.

Caudal Fin Structure

The caudal fin has asymmetrical, pointed lobes, and the lower lobe is longer than the upper lobe.

Scales and Lateral Line

This species has a complete lateral line with 36–39 large scales.

General Body Coloration

Its body color ranges from pink to red, and it has three yellow lines on the sides of its head.

Body Markings

It often develops brown blotches along its back.

Pelvic Fin Color Variation

Pelvic fins are naturally yellow, but the pelvic fins of breeding males turn red.

Species Size Range

The maximum recorded standard length of this species is 27 centimetres (11 in), while most adults measure between 12–18 centimetres (4.7–7.1 in).

Initial Formal Description

Anthias anthias was first formally described in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus as Labrus anthius in the tenth edition of Systema Naturae, Volume 1, with its type locality given as southern Europe.

Genus Type Species Origin

When Marcus Elieser Bloch established the genus Anthias, he named Anthias sacer as the type species. However, A. sacer is now considered a synonym of Linnaeus's Labrus anthias, meaning this species is the type species of the genus Anthias.

Etymology of Specific Epithet

The specific epithet anthias comes from Greek, where it refers to a type of fish, most likely the gilt-head bream.

General Distribution Range

This species is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Eastern Atlantic Distribution

In the eastern Atlantic, its range extends from Portugal south to Angola and northern Namibia. It is also present around the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, and the islands of the Gulf of Guinea.

Mediterranean Distribution

It is widespread across the Mediterranean, and has been recorded in the Canakkale Strait off Gallipoli, but does not occur in the Black Sea.

Depth and Habitat

Anthias anthias lives at depths between 15 and 200 metres (49 to 656 ft), among rocks and corals, and hides in caves during the day.

Feeding Period and Diet

It emerges at night to feed on zooplankton, small crustaceans, and small fish.

Reproductive Biology

This species is a protogynous hermaphrodite: all individuals hatch as female. When a male in a group dies, one of the larger females changes sex to become a male.

Sex Ratio Characteristics

Most individuals remain female for their entire lives, and even large schools of this species only contain a small number of males.

Sex Change Process

The sex change process takes approximately two weeks, and involves changes not just to gonads, but also to body color, size, and shape. If a social group ends up with too many males, some males can reverse the sex change and revert to being female.

Cooperative Feeding Behavior

These fish have been observed feeding co-operatively: some individuals feed while others herd prey such as shrimp, and the fish reverse roles to let all individuals feed.