West coast seabream facts for kids
The west coast seabream (Lithognathus aureti) is a type of marine fish. It's also known as the west coast steenbras. This fish lives in shallow waters off the coasts of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa. The International Union for Conservation of Nature says this fish is "near threatened". This means its population is decreasing, and it might become endangered if we don't protect it.
Quick facts for kids West coast seabream |
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| Anilocra capensis, an isopod parasite, on Lithognathus aureti | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Lithognathus
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| Species: |
aureti
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Contents
About the West Coast Seabream
The west coast seabream has a deep body. It can grow to be about 100 cm (39 in) (about 3 feet) long. The heaviest one ever found weighed 19.3 kilograms (43 lb) (about 42 pounds). Its head is shorter than its body is deep. The top of its head, above the eye, is slightly curved.
What Does It Look Like?
This fish does not have scales on its snout (nose area). Its upper jaw can stick out. It has small teeth. There's one row of pointed teeth on the outside. Inside, there are two rows of small, flat teeth, like molars.
Its top fin (dorsal fin) has eleven strong spines and nine or ten soft rays. The fin underneath (anal fin) has three spines and eight or nine soft rays. Its side fins (pectoral fins) are longer than its head and have fifteen or sixteen soft rays.
The west coast seabream is silvery-grey. It has about seven faint, up-and-down stripes. These stripes are easier to see when the fish is young.
How to Tell It Apart from Other Fish
This fish can sometimes be confused with the sand steenbras (Lithognathus mormyrus). However, the sand steenbras has a flatter body. It also has more rays in its top and bottom fins. Plus, it has ten to fourteen dark stripes, which are clearer.
The white steenbras (Lithognathus lithognathus) looks similar too. But the white steenbras has a longer head and a thinner body.
Where the West Coast Seabream Lives
The west coast seabream is a special fish because it is only found along the coast of southwestern Africa. This means it is endemic to this area. Its home stretches from Rio Longa in Angola down to Cape Town in South Africa. However, it is not very common outside of Namibia.
Its Home in the Ocean
This fish lives very close to the shore. You can usually find it in the surf zone, which is where waves break. It prefers depths of less than 10 m (33 ft) (about 33 feet). It likes to live over sandy areas on the seabed.
The west coast seabream lives in two separate groups. One group is in the northern and central parts of Namibia. The other group lives around Meob Bay in the south of Namibia.
Life Cycle and Habits
The west coast seabream eats small animals that live on the seabed. Its diet includes crabs, polychaete worms, and bivalve molluscs (like clams or mussels).
How It Reproduces
This fish has a very interesting way of reproducing. It is a protandric hermaphrodite. This means that it starts its adult life as a male fish. Then, as it gets older, it changes its sex and becomes a female fish!
For the northern groups of fish, males usually become mature (ready to reproduce) at about 4.8 years old. For the southern groups, males mature at about 6 years old. When they change to females, the northern fish are about 7.2 years old. The southern fish become females at around 9.7 years old.
The eggs of the west coast seabream are laid in the surf zone. After they are laid, the eggs tend to float north with the ocean currents.
Conservation Status
The northern group of west coast seabream is popular with people who fish from rocks and the beach. The southern group is sometimes caught by commercial fishing boats using lines.
The total number of west coast seabream is going down. This fish grows slowly and lives for a long time. Because of this, it can be easily overfished. This means too many fish are caught, and the population cannot recover fast enough.
Because of these reasons, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the west coast seabream as "near threatened". This shows that we need to be careful to protect this unique fish.
