Tub Gurnard

Cold and temperate sea fish

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Identity card

Tub Gurnard

Scientific name:: Chelidonichthys lucerna

Family:: Triglidae

Class:: Actinopterygii

Phylum:: Chordata

Year of description:: Linnaeus, 1758

IUCN Status:: Least Concern

Distribution:: Waters of the Eastern Atlantic, from Norway down to Senegal, the Mediterranean Sea, and South Africa.

Habitat:: Between 50 and 150 metres.

Size:: The tub gurnard measures between 15 and 60 cm, but can grow to 75 cm.

Diet:: Crustaceans, shrimps, crabs, fish and molluscs.

Longevity:: 15 years

The name gurnard comes from the gurnard's swim bladder, which sometimes emits vibrations and grunts.

The breeding season of the tub gurnard varies depending on where it lives. Females release their eggs in the open water and the juveniles reach the shore in late summer. A female can lay 150,000 eggs.

When young, it feeds mainly on crustaceans such as copepods. As it grows, it adapts its diet and starts to eat shrimps and crabs. Larger specimens can even catch fish and cephalopod molluscs.

did you know?

Where is the animal to be found?

The tub gurnard lives on the continental shelf and the edge of the slope, from the coast to a depth of 300 metres and more particularly between -50 and -150 metres. It can be found in the waters of the Eastern Atlantic, from Norway down to Senegal, the Mediterranean Sea, and South Africa.

How can it be recognised?

It uses the first three spines of its pectoral fins to "walk" on the sea floor. In fact, it does this to detect its food. Furthermore, it uses these same fins, but this time extended, to intimidate its predators, namely amberjacks.

The tub gurnard measures between 15 and 60 cm, but can grow to 75 cm.