Teleostei (teleosts) > Acanthuriformes (Surgeonfishes) > Siganidae (Rabbitfishes)
Etymology: Siganus: Latin, siganus = a fish, rabbit fish; by the similarity of the nose (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Valenciennes.

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 3 - 30 m (Ref. 48637) usually 5 - 30 m (Ref. 27115); 24°C - 27°C (Ref. 27115) preferred ?; tropical; 30°N - 30°S49°E - 170°E.

Indo-West Pacific: Aldabra Islands, Seychelles, Maldives, Andaman Sea, Thailand, Indonesia, Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Singapore, Viet Nam, Philippines, Ryukyu Islands, Ogasawara Islands, Palau, ?Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Australia, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. Replaced by Siganus trispilos in northwest Australia (Ref. 37816).

Max length: 35.0 cm SL male/unsexed (Ref. 48637); common length: 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed (Ref. 9813).

Dorsal spines (total): 13; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Anal spines: 7; Anal soft rays: 9; Vertebrae: 13. Head, body and fins orange-yellow; pale blue ocelli with darker blue margins on head, thorax and sides; spots about pinhead size, larger and more crowded on head, sometimes smaller on sides; ocelli may extend onto bases of dorsal and anal fins, and on bases of outer rays of caudal fin. Very small juveniles (up to 50 mm SL) may have vertical blue lines on side, fragmenting into the ocelli with increase in size. Orbit with a diffused-edged dark, triangular smudge; orange-brown iris Fin spines stout, pungent and venomous. Midline of thorax and ridges fully scaled.

Occurs in coral-rich areas of lagoons. Juveniles found in small schools in shallow seagrass beds and reefs; often found among Acropora corals. Adults usually in pairs on shallow coral reefs and feed on benthic algae. A food fish that is occasionally poisonous (Ref. 4537, 48637).

Woodland, D.J. 1990 Revision of the fish family Siganidae with descriptions of two new species and comments on distribution and biology. Indo-Pac. Fish. (19):136 p. (Ref. 1419)

  Least Concern (LC); date assessed: March 10 2015

Not Evaluated

Not Evaluated

  Venomous (Ref. 4537)

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Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.7 - 29, mean 28.1 °C (based on 1288 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01072 (0.00593 - 0.01935), b=3.17 (3.02 - 3.32), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 2.0 ±0.0 se; Based on diet 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 (33 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): High; Questionable: based on ex-vessel price for species in this genus.

Nutrients (Ref. 124155): Calcium = 34.9 [17.2, 80.0] mg/100g; Iron = 0.648 [0.306, 1.487] mg/100g; Protein = 18.5 [17.0, 20.0] %; Omega3 = 0.1 [0.1, 0.2] g/100g; Selenium = 21.7 [8.7, 54.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 32.8 [7.7, 133.2] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.33 [0.52, 2.82] mg/100g (wet weight);