Yellow Gurnard (Trigla Lucerna)

Latin name: Trigla lucerna
Common name: Yellow gurnard
In other languages: E: Bejel, F: Grondin-perlon, D: Roter Knurrhahn
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Triglidae
Genus: Trigla

Distribution: Throughout the Mediterranean.

Habitat: They range over the sandy seabed from 10 metres down to 100 metres.

Behaviour: A common benthic species. This class of winged fish leaves a trail across the sand with its caudal fin as it glides over the sand or prances along on its sensory feelers. The trail looks much like that left by a terrestrial snail though this trail leaves a slight indentation in the sand, notwithstanding this, the visual picture is very similar.

Diet: Crustaceans, molluscs and small fish.

Size: Common: 20 - 45cm, maximum: 75cm.

Shape: The heads are on the large side with conspicuous bony plates that form armoured protection. The pectoral fins are adapted to be wing-like aiding the fish in gliding over the seabed. Three of the forward rays from each of these pectoral fins have developed into sensory feelers to detect resources below the surface of the seabed.