Cephalopholis taeniops (Valenciennes, 1828)

– African hind or blue-spotted seabass

Cephalopholis taeniops: Brito et al., 2011: 2185-2189 (GC); Triay-Portella et al., 2015: 165-166 (GC); Pajuelo et al., 2016: 25-26 (GC); Falcón et al., 2018: 43 (GC); Báez et al., 2019: suppl. tab. (C).

A Guinean species, found from Atlantic Morocco to Angola, including the Canary and Cabo Verde Islands (Triay-Portella et al., 2015; Heemstra and Anderson, 2016). After the first record of this species for the Canaries in December 2009 based on a subadult (Brito et al., 2011), C. taeniops is now regularly observed in the region and sometimes captured and commercialized.

It is a non-native species in the Canary Islands, inhabiting between 15 and 30 m depth. Reported maximum size: to 39 cm TL. Spanish vernacular names: mero tropical. It is part of the bycatch in local commercial and recreational fishing. When captured it is commercialized or consumed by the fishermen themselves.