Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 250 m (Ref. 100719). Tropical
Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea, Reunion, Madagascar, and South Africa; north to Japan, Taiwan, China, New Caledonia (including Chesterfield Islands), south to Australia;
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 17.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3131); common length : 12.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5978)
Dorsal
spines
(total): 5 - 6;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 11-12;
Anal
spines: 0;
Anal
soft rays: 9 - 11. Body except for caudal peduncle armored with huge, immovable scales. Lateral line scales present but without opening. Dorsal fin spines large, without membrane. Pelvic fin spine large, with locking mechanism. Anal fin without spine. Body yellow, scales outlined in black; lower jaw black. There is a pair of light organs each side of chin.
Found in the sublittoral zone (Ref. 11230), under ledges and caves of rocky reefs (Ref. 9710). Forms schools (Ref. 6620). Adults are found between 20 and 200 m depth, juveniles occasionally in shallower water (Ref. 9650). Regularly displayed in public aquaria.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Masuda, H., K. Amaoka, C. Araga, T. Uyeno and T. Yoshino, 1984. The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Vol. 1. Tokai University Press, Tokyo, Japan. 437 p. (text). (Ref. 559)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 126983)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial
More information
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningSpawning aggregationFecundityEggsEgg development
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingNutrientsMass conversion
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 15.9 - 28.2, mean 25.4 °C (based on 1404 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.6875 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01995 (0.00906 - 0.04395), b=3.01 (2.83 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.5 ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 44.2 [20.0, 179.6] mg/100g ; Iron = 0.52 [0.25, 1.12] mg/100g ; Protein = 17.7 [16.2, 19.1] % ; Omega3 = 0.146 [0.061, 0.366] g/100g ; Selenium = 35.9 [17.9, 77.7] μg/100g ; VitaminA = 121 [30, 508] μg/100g ; Zinc = 1.28 [0.81, 1.94] mg/100g (wet weight);