Fish of the Peristedion genus of the Peristedion (armored searobins) family of the suborder Platycephaloidei of the Scorpaeniformes order of the Acanthopterygii superorder.
(African armoured searobin. Photo by © Massimiliano Marcelli. commons.wikimedia.org)
African armoured searobin (Peristedion cataphractum) was first described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778).
It inhabits the depth of 50-850 meters, usually up to 150 meters. It is a schooling species. It prefers to swim close to the oozy and stony bottom. The maximum recorded length is 40 cm; specimens up to 18 cm are more common. It feeds on small organisms living in the ooze.
(African armoured searobin. Photo by © OCEANA flickr.com/photos/oceanaeurope)
It is a permanent inhabitant of the Adriatic Sea, which is more often found in its southern part.
Names of African armoured searobin (Peristedion cataphractum) in other languages as follows:
Peshku cfurk (Albanian), Gepantserde poon (Dutch), Κερατόψαρο (Keratopsaro) (Greek), Armado (Spanish), Pesce forca (Italian), Panzerhahn (German), Zbrojownik (Polish), Cabra-de-casca (Portuguese), Turčin (Serbian, Croatian), Vitezovka (Slovenian), Dikenliöksüz balığı (Turkish), Malarmat (French).