Diet of the black scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus (Scorpaenidae) of the gulf of Annaba, Algeria
How to cite: Omri, N., Derbal, F., & Kara, M. H. (2019). Diet of the black scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus (Scorpaenidae) of the gulf of Annaba, Algeria. Cybium, 43(2): 179-186. https://doi.org/10.26028/CYBIUM/2019-423-006
The diet of the black scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus (Linnaeus, 1758) of Annaba Gulf (Eastern Algeria) was studied from April 2011 to April 2012. A total of 520 specimens, with a total length between 10.2 and 27.8 cm, were analyzed. Analysis of the digestive contents revealed a dominance of decapods crustaceans (%IRI = 91.2). This species ingested an average of 0.58 prey weighing 0.73 g. For both sexes, arthropods were essential prey (%IRIm = 73.6; %IRIf = 86.9). The diet of large (L) individuals was mainly divided between arthropods (%IRIL = 56.3) and teleosts (%IRIL = 34). Small (S) and medium-sized (M) black scorpionfish mainly focused on arthropods (%IRIS = 98.3; %IRIM = 86.5). The average annual digestive vacuity was of 40.8% and varied significantly according to seasons. There was no significant seasonal change in diet except in the summer.