cial bottom trawls between 300 and 675 m, and is slightly more abundant below 550 m (Guallart 1990). In the northeast Atlantic E. spinax has been caught at depths of 400–1,000 m (Merrett et al. 1991a,b; Bridger 1978). In general, smaller (<30 cm) individuals tended to occur at depths of less than 500 m whilst mature individuals were found at mid-depths (500 to 600 m) (P. Crozier pers. comm.). In Sierra Leone E. spinax is found as shallow as 200 m but is a dominant species at depths greater than 400 m (Litvinov 1993). In Morocco E. spinax is captured at depths of 400–800 m, is a resident species at 400–500 m and is dominant at 600 m and sub-dominant at 600–900 m (Litvinov 1993).|
Estimated age at maturity is five to six years (Cecchi et al. 2004), although longevity is unknown for the species. Size at maturity has various estimates: females mature between >30–46 cm total length (TL); 33–36 cm (Compagno in prep); 38–40 cm (Capapè et al. 2001, Cecchi et al. 2004); 46 cm (n=76) in the northeast Atlantic (Crozier unpub. data); 31 cm in South Portugal (Coelho and Erzini 2005); and >30 cm in the Adriatic (Ungaro pers. comm.). Males mature between 25–38 cm: 33–36 cm TL (Compagno in prep.); 35 cm (Capapè et al. 2001); 38 cm (n=105) in the northeast Atlantic (Crozier unpub. data); 25 cm in South Portugal (Coelho and Erzini 2005); and 28–30 cm in the Adriatic (N. Ungaro pers. comm.). The maximum size recorded for E. spinax was a female of 60 cm TL but specimens are rarely larger than 45 cm (Compagno in prep.).
The velvet belly is ovoviviparous producing 6–20 pups per litter (Compagno in prep, Fischer et al. 1987), with a mean ovarian fecundity of 18 eggs (n=14) and a mean embryonic fecundity of 10 pups (n=15) (Crozier unpub. data). In the Thyrrenian Sea mature females were observed at 40 cm TL carrying six embryos of 6.5 cm TL in the uterus (Cecchi et al. 2004). Females produce a litter once a year (Bini 1967, Tortonese 1956) and pups are between 8 and 14 cm TL at birth (12 to 14 cm (Compagno in prep.); 10–11 cm (Fischer et al. 1987); 11 cm (n=15) (Crozier unpub. data)). Smaller pups of 8–10 cm TL have been reported for the Adriatic (Marano et al. 2000).
This species feeds on small fishes, squids, and crustaceans (Compagno in prep.). The diet of E. spinax has been analysed as follows: crustaceans 74.8%, fishes 16.9%, cephalopods 6.9%, polychaetes 0.9% others 0.5% (Bello 1998, Cecchi et al. 2004). In the Rockall Trough in the Northeast Atlantic the diet of E. spinax was reported to consist mainly of benthopelagic organisms, with fish and crustaceans of secondary importance (Mauchline and Gordon 1983). Smaller specimens (<39 cm) of this species feed on mid-water fish that were completely absent from the stomachs of larger individuals. The differences in diet were thought to be partly due to prey selection and also because larger fish live at greater depths. In South Portugal a significant ontogenic variation in feeding ecology was observed, with specimens smaller than 17 cm TL feeding mainly on euphausiids, specimens from 17–27 cm TL feeding mainly on euphausiids and natant decapods and specimens larger than 27 cm TL feeding also on teleosts and cephalopods (Neiva et al. submitted). In Angolan waters, off the west African coast, the diet of this species has been described as follows: cephalopods (63%), crustaceans (33%) and teleosts (4%) (Zaera 2005).
This species is caught as a bycatch of bottom trawl fisheries and is known to be discarded by Italian (Abella and Serena 2002) and Spanish (Guallart 1990) fleets. Most specimens discarded are either dead or in very poor condition (J. Guallart pers. comm.). This species occurs at depths of 70–2,000 m, but mostly between 200–500 m in the Mediterranean. The main depth range of this species is within the range of Mediterranean fisheries. However, the ban on bottom trawling below depths of 1,000 m in the Mediterranean, adopted by all members of The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), will afford protection in the deeper part of its bathymetric range. This measure came 