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
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | 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)
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 (0.01723 - 0.04404), 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);
