Fun Boops Boops Fish Facts For Kids

No, you did not read the name wrong. Yes, this fish are called boops boops, just like the little nose boops you give to your pets! Read the article to learn more about this intriguing fish.

This fish with the name boops boops, more commonly known as a bogue, belongs to the family of Sparidae and is in the genus of Boops, which are saltwater, ray-finned fishes. The genus also consists of another species called Boops lineatus or Sparus boops.

The bogue species was first described by Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish zoologist and taxonomist in 1758. These fishes are hosts to many parasites such as spiny-headed worms, roundworms, and flatworms.

Boops is a hermaphrodite species which means some are born as females but slowly transition to males after engaging in sexual activity for the first time.

The bogue is a type of seabream native to the eastern Atlantic. Any common name given to a bogue is a reference made to its large bug eyes such as the cow eye fish.

The boops boops fish distribution occurs in Europe, Africa, the Azores, the Canary Islands, Norway, Angola, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea. Both bogue boops and Sparus boops do not like brackish waters such as the Baltic Sea.

The species mostly live at a depth of 54.6-191.3 ft (100-350 m) and they come to the surface at night in a school every once in a while to feed on seaweed, crustaceans, and some plankton.

If you are interested in reading about more such fishes, please check out our articles on clownfish and wels catfish. 
 

Boops Boops Fish Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a boops boops fish?

The bogue boops fish, like its name suggests, is a fish from the Animalia kingdom.

What class of animal does a boops boops fish belong to?

The bogue boops is a fish and belongs to the Actinopterygii class.

How many boops boops fish are there in the world?

Accurate data about the population size of this species does not exist. However, the IUNC Red List of Threatened Species has classified bogue boops as a species of Least Concern.

Where does a boops boops fish live?

Native to the eastern Atlantic, the boops boops fish range encompasses Africa, Europe, the Canary Islands, Norway to Angola, western Mediterranean, and the Black sea.

What is a boops boops fish's habitat?

The boops boops fish habitat includes muddy, rocky, and sandy grounds found in the oceans at a depth of 54.6-191.3 ft (100-350 m). Sometimes they surface at night to feed on seaweed, crustaceans, and some plankton.

Who do boops boops fish live with?

Bogue boops are schooling fish and live in large groups. They also feed together in schools.

How long does a boops boops fish live?

A bogue boops has a short lifespan and lives for five to seven years.

How do they reproduce?

The reproduction process begins when the eggs produced by females are fused with the sperm produced by the males. The gonads of this species helps to differentiate between their sexes.

Females have larger reproductive organs than males. The average length of males and females at the early stages of sexual maturity is 6.5-7 in (16.17.9 cm) respectively.

The males and females usually have paired testes and ovaries. The process of fertilization is external and large quantities of sperm and eggs are released simultaneously in the sea or ocean waters by males and females. This method is known as spawning.

They rarely stay and look after their eggs. Therefore, the young ones are independent the moment they are born and face many threats.

What is their conservation status?

The IUNC Red List of Threatened Species has classified boops boops as species of Least Concern. Even after heavy commercial fishing of the species, their population remains stable and this is because this species gives birth to many offsprings in a single mating season.

Their average litter size is 20-100. because boops partially use the spawning method during reproduction. There are restrictions on how much and where you can fish for boops to maintain their conservation status.

These fishes are considered a common food in European countries and especially in Latin America, where they include bogue fish in their regular diet. The only potential threats they face are larger predatory fishes, overfishing, and parasites.

A bogue hosts many parasites which affects its health severely as these parasites attach themselves to the bogue's mouth and live off its flesh and nutrients such as spiny headed worms.

Boops Boops Fish Fun Facts

What do boops boops look like?

A boops boops fish has a lateral-long and a slightly compressed body. The scales of a bogue are sliver with white and yellow hues and the upper half of its body has four to five mustard yellow longitudinal stripes.

The eyes are the most noticeable feature of this species as they are large, circular, and silver-gray with black pupils. The boops fish size can reach a maximum of 14 in (36 cm).

How cute are they?

Bogue boops are not that cute, but the name boops boops is!

How do they communicate?

Bogue boops communicate via sound, smell, and motion. Generally, they produce four types of sounds to communicate with each other which are 'purr', 'pop', 'hoot', and 'crock'.

These sounds are used during fights, spawning, breeding, to navigate the waters, track prey, and identify the presence of predators. Their sense of smell helps them identify and communicate their genders by smelling pheromones.

How big is a boops boops fish?

The boops bogue is 3.7-10.4 in (9.6 to 26.6 cm) long and 7.8-14 in (20-36 cm) tall. The great white shark is 15 times the size of a boops bogue.

How fast can a boops boops fish swim?

A bogue can swim up to 31.6 mph (50.8 kph). The fastest fish in the water is considered to be the sailfish.

How much does a boops boops fish weigh?

A bogue boops weighs approximately 16 oz (455 g). They weigh about the same as a small gilt head bream.

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names for the males and females of this species. They are simply called males or females. However, these fishes undergo certain changes after sexual maturity or engaging in sexual activities. They can change their genders and are known as hermaphrodites

What would you call a baby boops boops fish?

A baby bogue boops is called a fry at the early stages of growth and a fingerling when it is a juvenile.

What do they eat?

Bogue boops are omnivores and feed on benthic and pelagic prey. The boops fish diet includes copepods, eggs, mollusks, plantae, Chlorophyta algae, seaweed crustaceans, and some plankton. They feed in schools that surface at night.

Many large predators such as the tiger shark prey on bogue boops.

Are they poisonous?

No, bogue boops are not poisonous. In fact, they are edible and quite delicious!

Would they make a good pet?

Yes! Bogue fish are peaceful, easy to take care of, and easy to feed. Make sure to add several friendly tank mates to its aquarium as they prefer living in schools. If they are alone, it would trigger their separation anxiety and affect their well-being.

Did you know...

Bogue boops are used for fishmeal and live baits.

The name boops boops is a romanization of the Greek 'boōps'.

Besides bogue boops, fishes like the European anchovy, Atlantic horse mackerel, orange roughy are also native to the eastern Atlantic.

The Baltic Sea is considered to be the largest body of brackish water in the world.

Almost every country that commercially fishes for boops boops has a local or common name for it such as boga, cow-eye, boca, and buga.

Are boops boops poisonous?

Bouge boops are not poisonous and are commercially fished for human consumption.

They have several health benefits. They boost cardiovascular health, help with neurological development and omega-3 fatty acids present in the fish reduce and help cure depression.

Are boops boops edible?

Bogue boops are commercially fished for human consumption. They are marketed in sizes from small to large. These fishes when pan-fried, baked, or broiled taste amazing. Boops bogue is considered a staple food in various countries such as in Latin-American homes, this fish is cooked regularly.

It is also served at many restaurants across Europe. The preparatory methods used for these fishes are frying, broiling, and baking. It is also incorporated into sauces, curries, and broths.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more interesting facts about some other fish from our giant frogfish facts or pigfish facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free and printable boops boops fish coloring pages.