Description: A medium-sized, moderately deep-bodied, oval fish. Short head and blunt snout; small mouth with a regular row of close-set teeth on each jaw, resembling plates. Has a single, continuous dorsal fin with a spiny and a soft-rayed part. Pectoral fins are short. Scales are small, rough, and cover most of the head except for the snout, and also the fins, except for the spiny portion of the dorsal fin. Grey, wth dull longitudinal stripes on the body and two yellow horizontal bands on the head. Young may display large pale spots.
Global Distribution: Western Atlantic from Canada to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Eastern Atlantic from Morocco to Gulf of Guinea; St. Paul's Rocks, Ascension and St. Helena. Rarely found in the Mediterranean and off Madeira. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length 76.0 cm (total length); common length 50.0 cm (TL); maximum published weight: 6.0 kg.
Age:
Weight length rel.:
Growth type:
von Bertallanfy growth parameters:
Reproduction:
Maturity:
Behavioural ecology: Gregarious, may form large schools.
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 1 - 30, usually 1 - 10 m.
Habitat: Reef-associated. Inhabits shallow waters, over grass, sand or rocky bottom and around coral reefs. Young commonly found among floating Sargassum seaweeds.
Feeding habits: Feeds on plants, mainly on benthic algae, as well as on small crabs and mollusks, and even on dolphin's feces.
Trophic level: FishBase: 2.0
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Minor commercial species.
Conservation status: Global: Not evaluated.
Europe: Data deficient.
Nutritional information & food safety:
REFERENCES
Carpenter K.E., ed. (2002). The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and marine mammals. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. FAO, Rome, pp. 1375-2127.
González J., Hernández C., Marrero P., Rapp E. (2000). Peces de Canarias: GuÃa Submarina (5th edition). Francisco Lemus Editor, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canarias, Spain, 235 pp.
IUCN (2014). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. www.iucnredlist.org
Nieto A., Ralph G.M., Comeros-Raynal M.T., Kemp J., GarcÃa Criado M., Allen D.J., Dulvy N.K., Walls R.H.L., Russell B., Pollard D., GarcÃa S., Craig M., Collette B.B., Pollom R., Biscoito M., Labbish Chao N., Abella A., Afonso P., Ãlvarez H., Carpenter K.E., Clò S., Cook R., Costa M.J., Delgado J., Dureuil M., Ellis J.R., Farrell E.D., Fernandes P., Florin A-B., Fordham S., Fowle, S., Gil de Sola L., Gil Herrera J., Goodpaster A., Harvey M., Heessen H., Herler J., Jung A., Karmovskaya E., Keskin C., Knudsen S.W., Kobyliansky S., KovaÄić M., Lawson J.M., Lorance P., McCully Phillips S., Munroe T., Nedreaas K., Nielsen J., Papaconstantinou C., Polidoro B., Pollock C.M., Rijnsdorp A.D., Sayer C., Scott J., Serena F., Smith-Vaniz W.F., Soldo A., Stump E., Williams J.T. (2015). Europen Red List of Marine Fishes. IUCN and European Union, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 90 pp.
