Brown Meagre - Sciaena umbra - Gliding Quietly past the Rocky Reef

A solitary Brown Meagre glides calmly past the rocky reef at Cirkewwa, Malta, showing its bronze body and distinctive dark lower fins.

The Brown Meagre (Sciaena umbra) is a distinctive Mediterranean fish with a relatively deep body, strongly curved back and flatter underside. Its colour ranges from dark bronze to silvery brown with metallic or golden reflections, while the pelvic and anal fins are characteristically very dark with pale leading edges. The mouth is small and set low on the head, and the species lacks the chin barbel found in some related drum fishes. Brown Meagre are mainly associated with shallow coastal habitats, especially rocky and sandy bottoms, reefs, caves and crevices, where they often remain close to shelter during daylight hours and become more active at night. They feed primarily on small fishes and crustaceans. FishBase records the species from around 1 to 200 metres depth, with a maximum reported length of about 70 centimetres. This photograph captures a single Brown Meagre moving calmly past the rocky reef at Cirkewwa in Malta, its bronze body and dark fins standing out clearly against the blue Mediterranean water.