Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 3 - 87 m (Ref. 7251). Tropical; 30°N - 33°S, 91°W - 34°W
Western Atlantic: Florida, USA and the northeastern Gulf of Mexico to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; throughout the West Indies (Ref. 3815).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 46.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); common length : 28.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3815); max. published weight: 1.0 kg (Ref. 5217)
Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 10. Silvery, the scales with iridescent reflections; usually a faint longitudinal banding on a body; a blue-gray line under eye present or absent; no other blue markings; no orange or yellow at corner of mouth; small black spot at upper base of pectoral fins (Ref. 13442).
Found in clear reef areas over soft or semi-hard bottoms. Juveniles are encountered in seagrass (Thalassia) beds (Ref. 9626). Marketed fresh and frozen.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30303)
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 21.8 - 28, mean 26.4 °C (based on 332 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5001 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02754 (0.01715 - 0.04424), b=2.89 (2.76 - 3.02), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.4 ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 2.0 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (26 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 49.3 [19.5, 92.7] mg/100g; Iron = 0.609 [0.292, 1.179] mg/100g; Protein = 19.9 [18.5, 21.3] %; Omega3 = 0.139 [0.076, 0.257] g/100g; Selenium = 38.3 [18.2, 78.6] μg/100g; VitaminA = 39.5 [9.9, 156.5] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.746 [0.457, 1.141] mg/100g (wet weight);
