Name: Twobar Seabream
Local name: Faskara bintalnokhza
Scientific name: Acanthopagrus bifasciatus
Classification: Class: ray-finned fishes; Order: perch-likes; Family: seabreams (Sparidae)
Synonym: Mylio bifasciatus
Size: It commonly attains 25 – 35 cm, with a maximum total length of 50 cm.
Habitat:
This species lives as solitary individuals or in small semi-stationary groups in bays and sheltered seaward coral areas at depths from 2 m down to 25 m.
Distribution:
The Twobar Seabream is restricted to the north-western Indian Ocean, from the Red Sea via southern Arabia to the Arabian Gulf and east to Pakistan.
Conservation status:
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies the Twobar Seabream as Least Concern (LC) in both the global assessment and the regional assessment for the Arabian Gulf. It is caught by traps (gargoor) and handlines, and marketed fresh.
Description:
The Twobar Seabream is a deep-bodied, moderately compressed species, with a steep and convex dorsal head profile. The caudal fin is slightly forked. Dorsal-fin spines are strong and alternately broad and narrow. Body coloration is greyish silvery, with centers of body scales often darker than margins. There are two vertical bars across the head, the narrower anterior one passing through the eye, and the second one extending from the nape across the operculum. The snout is sometimes yellow, pelvic and anal fins are black, and the remaining fins are yellow.
