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Blacktail

Diplodus capensis

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth1–6 m
  • Water temperature15–25 °C
  • Best monthsSeptember, October, and November
  • How commonOccasional
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Photo credit: (c) Peter Southwood, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Peter Southwood · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

Diplodus capensis, the Cape white seabream or blacktail seabream, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sparidae, which includes the seabreams and porgies. This fish is found around the coasts of Southern Africa.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Diplodus capensis”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

  • January: 275 records
  • February: 196 records
  • March: 203 records
  • April: 218 records
  • May: 283 records
  • June: 147 records
  • July: 149 records
  • August: 223 records
  • September: 335 records
  • October: 427 records
  • November: 292 records
  • December: 260 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–6 m · Deepest record: 10 m

  • 0–10 m: 10 records
  • 10–20 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 15–25 °C

  • 14–16 °C: 80 records
  • 16–18 °C: 519 records
  • 18–20 °C: 27 records
  • 20–22 °C: 30 records
  • 22–24 °C: 17 records
  • 24–26 °C: 18 records

Names and classification

English
Blacktail, Cape white Seabream, Dassie, white seabream
Names in 4 more languages
German
Große Geißbrasse
Spanish
Sargo Común Del Cabo, Sargo Del Cabo
French
Sar Commun Du Cap
Simplified Chinese
暗帶重牙鯛, 黑尾重牙鯛

Other scientific names: Sargus capensis

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

  • Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
  • Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
  • Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
  • 2,476 open-data records from 1844 to 2015.
  • Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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