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NRLD - 330449 | Megalaspis cordyla

Assessment ID
330449
Taxon name
Megalaspis cordyla
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Megalaspis cordyla
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Fishes
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
chordata
Class
actinopterygii
Order
perciformes
Family
carangidae
Genus
Megalaspis
Species
cordyla
Species authority
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
United Arab Emirates (the)
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
United Arab Emirates (the)
Country ISO code(s)
ARE
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Least Concern
Abbreviated status
LC
Criteria system used
IUCN

(see Assessment details)

Assessment rationale/justification
This inshore, pelagic speciesoccurs throughout UAE waters. Fishing activity is not expected to be causing population declines at this time. There are no known major threats; therefore, it is listed as Least Concern in the UAE.
Assessment details
Year assessed
2019
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
Not assigned
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
This species occurs throughout UAE waters. Globally, it is widespread in the Indo-West Pacific (Smith-Vaniz 1984, Randall 1995, Randall et al. 2003). The depth range is 1 to 100 m (R. Myers pers. comm. 2015).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Terrestrial
Not_assigned
Freshwater
Not_assigned
Marine
Yes
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This pelagic, schooling species occurs in inshore waters (Smith-Vaniz 1984, Randall 1995). Its diet consists primarily of fishes, crustaceans, molluscs and polychaetes (Sreenivasan 1974, Smith-Vaniz 1984) and squids (Randall 1995). The maximum total length is 80 cm (Smith-Vaniz 1984). Spawning season is April to February with a peak from May to August. Both sexes attain maturity between 25 and 27 cm off India (Sivakami 1995). Off Pakistan, it spawns from May to June and November to February (Qamar and Panhwar 2018). Sizes at maturity have also been reported as 22 cm and 26.4 cm for females and males, respectively, (Bal and Rao 1984) and at 21 cm for both sexes (Jadhav and Mohite 2013). The age at 50% maturity for both females and males off Pakistan was estimated as 2.4 years, the size as 26.5-27 cm and a longevity of 4 years (Qamar and Panhwar 2018).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Fishing activity is not known to be driving declines in the UAE at this time.
Publication
UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes
Ralph, G.M., Stump, E., Linardich, C., Bullock, R.W., Carpenter, K.E., Allen D.J., Hilton-Taylor, C., Al Mheiri, R., and Alshamsi, O. 2021. UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes. 2021. Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.