Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 2 - 25 m. Tropical
Western Indian Ocean: known only from the Red Sea. Reported from the Gulf of Aden.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 22.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710); common length : 15.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5450)
Commonly found on reef flats (Ref. 9710). Usually solitary or in pairs in areas with rich coral growth. Monogamous (Ref. 52884). Feed mainly on coral polyps (Ref. 4858). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Form pairs during breeding (Ref. 205).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Distinct pairing (Ref. 205). Monogamous mating is observed as both obligate and social (Ref. 52884).
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea and W.B. Scott, 1991. World fishes important to North Americans. Exclusive of species from the continental waters of the United States and Canada. Am. Fish. Soc. Spec. Publ. (21):243 p. (Ref. 4537)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 24.7 - 29.2, mean 27.2 °C (based on 513 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02291 (0.01133 - 0.04632), b=3.00 (2.83 - 3.17), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.3 ±0.61 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (14 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 84 [44, 129] mg/100g; Iron = 0.742 [0.443, 1.188] mg/100g; Protein = 18.7 [17.6, 19.8] %; Omega3 = 0.112 [0.070, 0.173] g/100g; Selenium = 30.2 [17.4, 55.4] μg/100g; VitaminA = 48.2 [14.6, 156.2] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.27 [0.87, 1.82] mg/100g (wet weight);