Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes
(Perch-likes) > Bramidae
Etymology: Brama: Old French, breme, bresme = a fresh water fish; 1460 (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; bathypelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 1000 m (Ref. 4388), usually 0 - 200 m (Ref. 89422). Deep-water; 12°C - 24°C; 65°N - 70°S, 180°W - 180°E
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26340); common length : 40.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3397); max. published weight: 6.0 kg (Ref. 4645); max. reported age: 9 years (Ref. 33866)
Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific (Ref. 47377). Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada and Bermuda (Ref. 7251) to Belize and the Antilles (Ref. 26340). Also found in Brazil (Ref. 47377) and in Argentine (Ref. 2806). Eastern Atlantic: central Norway (Ref. 6697) southward to Algoa Bay, South Africa (Ref. 4388). Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ref. 26139).
An oceanic and epipelagic species, also found to 1,000 m depth (Ref. 27121). Occasionally comes close to shore (Ref. 9563). Seasonal migrant occurring in small schools, movements apparently temperature-related. Opportunistic feeder on small fishes, cephalopods, amphipods, and euphausiids. Sold fresh and frozen; eaten steamed, fried, broiled and baked (Ref. 9988).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Gomes, J., 1990. Bramidae. p. 758-764. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNCT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 4936)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 96402)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Threat to humans
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5039 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01318 (0.00691 - 0.02514), b=3.00 (2.82 - 3.18), based on LWR estimates for species & (Sub)Family-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 4.1 ±0.64 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Assuming tm>4).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): High to very high vulnerability (71 of 100) .