Labrus merula

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	ACTINOPTERYGII	PERCIFORMES	LABRIDAE

Scientific Name:

Labrus merula

Species Authority:

Linnaeus, 1758

Common Name/s:

English	–	Brown wrasse, Cuckoo wrasse
French	–	Merle
Spanish	–	Merlo

Synonym/s:

Labrus limbatus Valenciennes, 1839

Labrus lineolatus Valenciennes, 1839

Labrus livens Linnaeus, 1758

Labrus nereus Risso, 1810

Labrus psittacus Risso, 1827

Labrus saxorum Valenciennes, 1839

Labrus turdus Linnaeus, 1758

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:	2010
Assessor/s:	Pollard, D.
Reviewer/s:	Sadovy, Y. & Carpenter, K.E.
Contributor/s:
Justification: This species is widespread and common in the Mediterranean. There may be some threats from habitat degradation (i.e. seagrass bed destruction), however, the population has not shown any serious signs of decline. Therefore, this species is listed as Least Concern.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	In the Eastern Atlantic, this species is present from Portugal to Morocco, including the Azores Islands (P. Afonso pers. comm. 2008). In the Mediterranean Sea, this species is present throughout the entire area except for the eastern Levantine Sea. It is not present in the Black Sea (Golani et al. 2006).
Countries:	Native: Albania; Algeria; Croatia; Cyprus; Egypt; France; Gibraltar; Greece; Israel; Italy; Libya; Malta; Monaco; Morocco; Portugal; Slovenia; Spain; Syrian Arab Republic; Tunisia; Turkey
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Atlantic – eastern central; Atlantic – northeast; Mediterranean and Black Sea
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	This species is relatively widespread and common throughout most of the Mediterranean Sea (D. Pollard pers. comm. 2008).
Population Trend:	Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This species is found around rocks, amongst seaweeds and in seagrass beds. It exhibits some schooling but are more solitary when older. It feeds on sea urchins, ophiuroids, mollusks, crabs and worms. Maturity occurs after two years at lengths between 15 and 20 cm. This species spawns from February to May in the western Mediterranean Sea (Quignard and Pras 1986). Demersal eggs are laid amongst seagrasses and are protected by the males (Golani et al. 2006).
Systems:	Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

This species is found around rocks, amongst seaweeds and in seagrass beds. It exhibits some schooling but are more solitary when older. It feeds on sea urchins, ophiuroids, mollusks, crabs and worms.

Maturity occurs after two years at lengths between 15 and 20 cm. This species spawns from February to May in the western Mediterranean Sea (Quignard and Pras 1986). Demersal eggs are laid amongst seagrasses and are protected by the males (Golani et al. 2006).

Systems:

Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Threats to this species include habitat degradation, specifically the reduction of Posidonia seagrass beds. Larger individuals may be caught in the artisanal fisheries and used as food locally in the Mediterranean region (D. Pollard pers. comm. 2008).

Major Threat(s):

Threats to this species include habitat degradation, specifically the reduction of Posidonia seagrass beds.
Larger individuals may be caught in the artisanal fisheries and used as food locally in the Mediterranean region (D. Pollard pers. comm. 2008).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	There are no specific conservation measures in place for this species. Its distribution overlaps several marine protected areas within its range.

Conservation Actions:

There are no specific conservation measures in place for this species. Its distribution overlaps several marine protected areas within its range.

Citation:	Pollard, D. 2010. Labrus merula. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 22 May 2013.
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