''Terapon puta'', the spiny-checked grunter, three-lined grunter, small-scaled banded grunter, small-scaled terapon, squeaking perch or two-lined grunter, is a species of fish from the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region, it is a member of the grunter family,

Terapontidae Grunters or tigerperches are ray-finned fishes in the family Terapontidae (also spelled Teraponidae, Theraponidae or Therapontidae). This family is part of the superfamily Percoidea of the order Perciformes. Characteristics The Terapontidae ...

. It has also spread into the eastern Mediterranean Sea from the Red Sea through the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

, a process known as

Lessepsian migration The Lessepsian migration (or Erythrean invasion) is the migration of marine species along the Suez Canal, usually from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and more rarely in the opposite direction. When the canal was completed in 1869, fish, ...

Description

''Terapon puta'' has an elongated and slightly compressed body. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

is continuous, although there is a distinct notch between spiny forward part and soft rayed rear part. The spiny portion is strongly arched and the membrane between the spines is slightly incised. The penultimate dorsal spine is much shorter than last spine. The

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

truncated. It has a terminal mouth in which the jaws extend back to line up with the posterior nostril. It has two rows of teeth in the jaws, the outer row consisting of strong conical teeth and the inner row made up of villiform (brush-like) teeth which are arranged in bands. There are no teeth on the

vomer The vomer (; ) is one of the unpaired facial bones of the skull. It is located in the midsagittal line, and articulates with the sphenoid, the ethmoid, the left and right palatine bones, and the left and right maxillary bones. The vomer forms ...

palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.

. The

preoperculum This glossary of ichthyology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in ichthyology, the study of fishes. A B C ...

is serrated and there are two spines on the operculum which are level with the eye, the lower spine is the longer and extends as far or beyond opercular margin.Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea (''Terapon puta''). 2nd Edition. 2021. 366p. CIESM Publishers, Paris, Monaco.https://ciesm.org/atlas/fishes_2nd_edition/Terapon_puta.pdf Therapon puta Ford 18

''Terapon puta'' is silvery-grey with four longitudinal, parallel stripes which extend from the head to the caudal fin, upper three stripes are black, the lowermost stripe is paler and varies from yellowish to brown. There is a large black spot on the upper part of front part dorsal fin. Grows to 15 cm standard length, but more usually 5–12 cm.

Distribution

''Terapon puta'' has an

distribution from the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

south to

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

and through entire Indian Ocean to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

It was first recorded in the Mediterranean in the Bardawil Lagoon in the north of the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai ( ; ; ; ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Afri ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in 1976 and in it 1977 it was recorded off

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

and off

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

in 1994. It is now prevalent in the south-eastern Mediterranean.

Biology

Adult ''Terapon puta'' inhabit coastal waters and enter brackish estuaries and areas of mangrove and will even enter freshwater. It feeds on fish and invertebrates. They spawn in the summer and the male guards the eggs and fans water over them to ensure a good supply of oxygen.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3182984 puta Fish described in 1829 Taxa named by Georges Cuvier Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN