Xyrichtys novacula, Pearly razorfish : fisheries, gamefish, aquarium

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Xyrichtys novacula (Linnaeus, 1758)

Pearly razorfish
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Xyrichtys novacula   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Xyrichtys novacula (Pearly razorfish)
Xyrichtys novacula
Picture by Patzner, R.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) > Labridae (Wrasses) > Xyrichtyinae
Etymology: Xyrichtys: Greek, xyreo = that cuts like a knife + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335);  novacula: Specific name from Latin 'novacula' meaning 'razor'; referring to it being very compressed with front of head forming a sharp edge..
More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 90 m (Ref. 3726). Subtropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA and northern Gulf of Mexico (Ref. 7251) through the Caribbean to Brazil. Eastern Atlantic: France to Angola and including the Mediterranean, Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, Cape Verde and Sao Tome Island.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 38.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); common length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2683); max. reported age: 8 years (Ref. 4742)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 12. An elongate, very compressed fish with front of head forming a sharp edge. Snout very blunt; profile steep. Pale greenish, usually with no conspicuous markings on body (Ref. 26938). Head with alternating vertical lines of light blue and light yellow-orange (Ref. 13442).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits clear shallow areas with sandy bottoms, usually in the vicinity of seagrass beds and corals (Ref. 2683). Feeds mainly on mollusks; also crabs and shrimps (Ref. 3726). A protogynous hermaphrodite; sexual dimorphism apparent in head shape and length of pelvic fin (Ref. 5292). Builds nests with coral debris. Dives head first into the sand when frightened (Ref. 9710). Marketed fresh (Ref. 3726).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Westneat, Mark | Collaborators

Gomon, M.F. and P. Forsyth, 1990. Labridae. p. 868-882. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon, SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 5292)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 12 April 2008

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | GoMexSI (interaction data) | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 17.4 - 27.9, mean 24.4 °C (based on 858 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5005   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00955 (0.00680 - 0.01341), b=3.00 (2.90 - 3.10), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.5   ±0.1 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 4.2 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tmax=8).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (36 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 32.8 [14.9, 67.1] mg/100g; Iron = 0.522 [0.286, 1.082] mg/100g; Protein = 18.8 [15.9, 21.0] %; Omega3 = 0.142 [0.077, 0.259] g/100g; Selenium = 18.7 [8.5, 39.1] μg/100g; VitaminA = 56.4 [15.9, 255.3] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.892 [0.550, 1.509] mg/100g (wet weight);