Cold and temperate sea fish

Pouting

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Identity card

Pouting

Scientific name:: Trisopterus luscus

Family:: Gadidae

Class:: Actinopterygii

Phylum:: Chordata

Year of description:: Linnaeus, 1758

IUCN Status:: Least Concern

CITES-status:: Not evaluated.

Distribution:: Waters of the north-east Atlantic and southern Norway as far as Morocco, and the north-western Mediterranean.

Habitat:: Down to a depth of 300 metres and in estuaries.

Size:: 40 cm

Diet:: Shrimps and crabs, crustaceans, small fish, cephalopod molluscs.

Longevity:: This fish lives on average 4 years in an aquarium.

This fish lives on average 4 years in the aquarium, it's also the maximum age observed in the wild

It is one of the favourite preys of congers. It is also frequently associated with the capelin Trisopterus minutus.
Young pouting feed mainly on shrimp and green crabs. Adults feed on crustaceans, small fish, cephalopod molluscs.

Did you know?

Where is the animal to be found?

The pouting Trisopterus luscus is a gregarious fish that lives in small schools in the waters of the north-east Atlantic and from southern Norway down as far as Morocco, as well as in the north-western Mediterranean.
It lives off the coast to a depth of 300 metres and in estuaries.

How can it be recognised?

The pouting has an oval, tall body, light beige colour with 4 or 5 dark vertical stripes. It has a black spot at the base of its pectoral fins. There is a barbel underneath the chin.

What is distinctive about it?

It usually does not grow longer than 40 cm and has a lifespan of 4 years. The pouting reaches sexual maturity at the end of its first year (between 21 and 25 cm). Breeding takes place in spring, with a peak in March-April.