Body size, sexual maturity and diet in Chelidonichthys lucerna (Osteichthyes: Triglidae) from the Adriatic Sea, north eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

         A total of 1,114 tub gurnard (Chelidonichthys lucerna l., 1758) were caught by trawl surveys carried out between May 2005 and March 2007 in the Adriatic Sea (north eastern Mediterranean). Females ranged from 113 to 415 mm TL and males from 128 to 299 mm TL. At 50% maturity, females matured at a fork length of 270 mm, while males matured at 220 mm. The tub gurnards prey mainly crustaceans and fishes. Molluscs are also consumed. A length around 180 mm is a critical size that coincides with the slope to great depths, the migration along the Italian coast towards the Croatian coast, the start of sexual maturity and the change of their main food, from crustaceans to fish.