BIOTIC

BIOTIC Species Information for Osilinus lineatus
All Taxonomy Biology Distribution Reproduction

Researched by	Nova Mieszkowska	Data supplied by	MarLIN
Refereed by	This information is not refereed.
Distribution and Habitat
Distribution in Britain & Ireland	Abundant on rocky shores in Britain reaching its northern limits on Anglesey & eastern limits at Osmington Mills, Dorset (pers. obs.). Absent from Scotland & the east coast of England. Range from Churchtown to Malin Head in Ireland.
Global distribution	Found in the north eastern Atlantic from Morocco to Cap de la Hague, France on mainland Europe (Crisp & Southward, 1958; Fretter & Graham 1977). Northern limits reached in North Wales and North Ireland.
Biogeographic range	Not researched	Depth range	MHWS to MLWS
Migratory	Seasonal (reproduction)
Distribution Additional Information	Osilinus lineatus is widely distributed on rocky shores between the 20 °C summer isotherm off Africa and the 6.5 °C winter isotherm off Anglesey. Northern limits are primarily set by reproductive failure (Lewis et al., 1982; Lewis 1986; Kendall, 1986) but may also be determined by hydrography or unsuitable habitat (Crisp & Knight-Jones, 1953) Juvenile Osilinus lineatus are found in nursery areas underneath boulders or in fissures. Adults crawl out of these damp areas onto the sides of boulders during warm, dry periods but tend to retreat to the lower surfaces of rocks when the weather is colder. In early summer Osilinus lineatusadults migrate up shore to the high eulittoral prior to spawning. Once spawning has occurred the animals migrate back down shore to the mid to lower eulittoral zone to over-winter.

Substratum preferences	Bedrock Large to very large boulders Rockpools Under boulders	Physiographic preferences	Open coast Strait / sound Enclosed coast / Embayment Sealoch Estuary
Biological zone	Upper Eulittoral Mid Eulittoral Lower Eulittoral	Wave exposure	Exposed Moderately Exposed
Tidal stream strength/Water flow	Strong (3-6 kn) Moderately Strong (1-3 kn)	Salinity	Variable (18-40 psu) Full (30-40 psu)
Habitat Preferences Additional Information
Distribution References	Hawkins & Jones, 1992, Hayward & Ryland, 1995b, Fish & Fish, 1996, Hayward et al., 1996, JNCC, 1999, NBN, 2002, Picton & Costello, 1998, Desai, 1966, Fretter & Graham, 1977, Kendall, 1987, Crisp & Southward, 1958, Crisp & Knight-Jones, 1953, Lewis et al., 1982, Lewis, 1986, Boaden et al., 1964,