Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; pelagic-neritic; depth range 10 - 180 m (Ref. 27121). Subtropical; 44°N - 40°S, 97°W - 16°E
Western Atlantic: New England, USA and Bermuda to Argentina (Ref. 47377). Eastern Atlantic: Mauritania to Namibia (Ref. 27121). Southwest Atlantic: Sergipe, Brazil (Ref. 118626).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3694); common length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3694); max. published weight: 4.9 kg (Ref. 40637)
Inhabits inshore and near-shore areas, over sand or mud bottoms. Usually found alone or in small, loose aggregates. Adults are pelagic, but near continental margins; young are commonly found on coastal and offshore banks (Ref. 7251). Feeds on fish and shrimps (Ref. 28587). Minimum depth from Ref. 26912. Its flesh is very delicate; nevertheless, in certain region like the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, it is toxic (particularly the skin and the viscera) (Ref. 5377). Poisonous, should not be eaten (Ref. 36731).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Shipp, R.L., 1990. Tetraodontidae. p. 1069-1072. 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. 7464)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 16.2 - 27.3, mean 23.2 °C (based on 373 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5005 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02042 (0.01599 - 0.02606), b=2.86 (2.82 - 2.90), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.0 ±0.69 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): High vulnerability (60 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 36.6 [14.9, 98.0] mg/100g; Iron = 1.01 [0.54, 2.12] mg/100g; Protein = 19.5 [17.4, 21.9] %; Omega3 = 0.429 [0.191, 0.878] g/100g; Selenium = 28.5 [14.1, 56.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 9.02 [3.40, 24.30] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.688 [0.482, 0.972] mg/100g (wet weight);
