Description: A fusiform, barely compressed fish, with 5 or 6 broad vertical dark bars on the body plus another bar on the caudal fin. It has two dorsal fins, the first reduced to a few short spines; the second composed of a spine and numerous soft rays. Has a fleshy keel on each side of the caudal peduncle and dorsal and ventral peduncle grooves. The caudal fin is deeply forked, with prominent white tips on both lobes.
Global Distribution: Circumglobal in tropical and subtropical waters. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length 70.0 cm (total length); common length 40.0 cm (TL).
Behavioural ecology: This species has a semi-obligate commensal relationship with sharks, rays, other bony fishes and turtles. Young are usually associated with jellyfish and drifting seaweed.
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 0-30 m.
Habitat: Oceanic; epipelagic. Young may be found in small schools under floating objects, jellyfish, etc; adults usually follow sharks, rays, other bony fishes and turtles.
Feeding habits: Feed on scraps of host's left over, parasites and excrement; also on small pelagic fishes and invertebrates.
Trophic level: FishBase: 4.0
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Minor commercial species. By-catch of large pelagic fish.
Conservation status: Global: Not evaluated.
Europe: Least concern.
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.
Hureau J.-C., ed. (1984-1985). Fishes of the North-Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO. Accessed through: Marine Species Identification Portal. World Wide Web electronic publication. http://species-identification.org (2014).
IUCN (2014). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. www.iucnredlist.org
McEachran J.D., Fechhelm J.D. (2006). Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Vol. 2. Scorpaeniformes to Tetraodontiformes. University of Texas Press, Texas, USA, 1008 pp.
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.
