Serranus scriba (Linnaeus, 1758)

Body Shape

The painted comber, Serranus scriba, has an elongate, laterally compressed body with a pointed snout.

Fin Structure

Its dorsal fin has 10 spines and 4 to 16 soft rays, while its anal fin has 3 spines and 7 to 8 soft rays; the caudal fin is truncate.

Mouth Structure

This species has a very large, protractile mouth for its size, lined with many sharp teeth.

Base Body Coloration

Its base body color can be grey, purplish, or reddish, with 5 to 7 dark brown bars running along its flanks.

Head Pattern

The head is patterned with many narrow, wavy blue lines and red blotches.

Fin Coloration

The dorsal, anal, and caudal fins are marked with red dots, and a diffuse purplish-blue blotch sits in the middle of the body. The pelvic and pectoral fins are typically a uniform pale yellow.

Size

The maximum recorded total length for this fish is 36 centimetres (14 in), though a length of 25 centimetres (9.8 in) is more typical.

Atlantic Distribution

The painted comber is distributed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean; its main range stretches from the Straits of Gibraltar to Senegal, including the Canary Islands, and it can be found as far north as the Bay of Biscay.

Mediterranean Distribution

Its range also extends into the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and Marmaris is one of the areas where this species is most abundant.

Habitat and Depth Range

The painted comber lives over rocky bottoms and within Posidonia seagrass beds, at depths between 5 and 150 metres (16 to 492 ft).

Activity Pattern and Social Structure

During the day, it shelters in rocky caves, and it is usually solitary or found in small groups, emerging at dusk to hunt.

Feeding Habits

It is a carnivorous, territorial ambush hunter that feeds on cephalopods, bivalves, crustaceans, fishes, and worms.

Scavenging Behavior

This species is often a sign of octopus occupation at a site, as it waits at cave entrances to scavenge discarded shellfish parts left by octopuses.

Spawning Period and Egg Laying

Its spawning season runs from late spring to early summer, and eggs are laid under stones near the shore.

Reproductive Biology

Painted combers are synchronous hermaphrodites: each individual has both male and female gonads, and may be capable of self-fertilisation.

Lifespan

They can live up to a maximum of 16 years.

Fishing Methods

Artisanal fisheries land painted comber using hook and line and trawls.

Human Use

The species has palatable flesh that can be cooked in a variety of ways.