Boops boops

Boops boops
School off the coast ofGreece
Conservation status
Least Concern(IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Spariformes
Family:	Sparidae
Genus:	Boops
Species:	B. boops
Binomial name
Boops boops Linnaeus,1758
Synonyms
Boops canariensisValenciennes,1839 Box boopsLinnaeus, 1758 Box vulgarisValenciennes, 1830 Sparus boopsLinnaeus, 1758

Boops boops(/ˈboʊ.ɒpsˈboʊ.ɒps/BOH-ops;fromAncient Greekβόωψ,literally 'ox-eyed'), commonly called thebogue,is a species ofseabreamnative to the eastern Atlantic.

Taxonomy

In the fourth century BCE,Boops boopswas documented byAristotleasbox(Greekβῶξ) in hisHistoria Animalium.In the early third century CE,Athenaeus,in hisDeipnosophistae,also called the fishboxand suggested that the name came from the sound that the fish makes (Greekβοή,"roar" ). The nameboops(Greekβόωψ,"ox-eyed" ) is mentioned due to the fish's large eyes.The first scientific description comes fromCarl Linnaeusin the tenth edition ofSystema NaturaeasSparus boops.It was later reclassified under the genusBoops.

Distribution and habitat

The species is found off the coasts of Europe, Africa, the Azores and the Canary Islands, from Norway to Angola, and in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. It avoids brackish waters such as the Baltic Sea. Ademersaland semi-pelagicfeeder, it can generally be found at a depth of 100 m (330 ft), and infrequently down to 350 m (1,150 ft).

Ecology

It consumes seaweed, crustaceans, and some plankton, in schools that rise to the surface at night. Individuals can reach 36 cm (14 in), but average 20 cm (7.9 in). Sex determinationin the bogue is unclear. It has variously been described as a rudimentary intersex organism, with a few intersex individuals, or aprotogynousintersex, with individuals starting out life as females, and some becoming male later on.

Human use

Bogue for sale in Turkey

Boops boopsin a bucket

The species is commercially fished, with 37,830 tonnes taken in 2008.European Commissionstandards include three size categories forBoops boops,from size 3, which is between 32 and 70 fish per kilogram, to size 1, which is no more than 5 fish per kilogram.

When cleaned and pan fried, broiled or baked fresh, they are good tasting, but when stored their gut flora soon spread unpleasant flavors to their flesh.

Their shelf life is limited, as when stored at freezing (0 °C) for a week, or slightly above freezing for 2 to 4 days, the taste after cooking becomes of "unacceptable quality".Much of the catch is used for fishmeal or tuna fishing bait.Boops boopshas been used as an indicator ofmicroplasticpollution in the Mediterranean sea.

Parasites

The bogue is host to a wide variety ofparasites,ranging frommetazoanssuch asmonogeneanflatworms(e.g.Microcotyle isyebiandCyclocotyla bellones)acanthocephalanspiny-headed worms,nematoderoundworms,isopodandcopepodcrustaceans andmyxozoancnidariansto the unicellulardinoflagellateIchthyodinium chabelardi,a parasite lethal to eggs developing in ovaries. At least 67 metazoan parasite species have been reported from the species.In the aftermath of the 2002Prestige oil spill,the community of parasitic species inhabiting bogue caught off the coast of Spain was noticeably altered.

External links

• Photos ofBoops boopson Sealife Collection