Age and growth of madeira scorpionfish, Scorpaena maderensis Valenciennes, 1833, in the central Mediterranean

Age and growth of Scorpaena maderensis were investigated by annual growth increment counts (annuli). Overall, age and growth were estimated from 353 specimens of S. maderensis ranging from 48 to 131 mm as TL. A significative dimorphism in size has been observed in this species, being males larger than females. Both annual deposition of annuli and location of the first annulus have been validated by marginal increment analysis and daily growth increment counts, respectively. The estimated age range was between 0¨C5 years for females and 0¨C4 years for males. The estimated values of Von Bertalanffy asymptotic length L¡Þ (cm) and k (year-1) were 9.6 and 0.44 for females and 14.8 and 0.23 for males. Thus, females of S. maderensis appeared to live longer and attain their maximum size faster than males. The growth performance index of this species ranged between 1.6 and 1.7, which is at the lower end of the range observed in other Mediterranean scorpaenids.