Chelidonichthys cuculus. In: Sartor P., Mannini A., Carlucci R., Massaro E., Queirolo S., Sabatini A., Scarcella G.

The Chelidonichthys cuculus biology is little known inMediterranean Sea and especially in the Italian seas. In Italian seas, reproduction takes place from January to June. In the Adriatic Sea males attain sexual maturity at smaller sizes than females: about 50% of males were mature at 15.0 cm TL and 50% of females were mature at 16.5 cm TL. The size at first sexual maturity for females in the Tyrrhenian is slightly greater of that of other areas. The Maximum length reached by this species is around 45 cm TL. In the Northcentral Adriatic Sea, a maximum length of 30 cm TL was reported. The area showing the greatest persistence of recruits was detected North of Pomo/Jabuka Pit, at a depth range between 100 and 200 m. The data relating to biomass and density evaluation refer to average catch indexes found during MEDITS trawl surveys since 1994 to 2013. The highest densities were observed in the waters of Sardinia, while lower densities were observed in the North-central Adriatic Sea and in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea.