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Cephalopholis argus Schneider, 1801

Peacock hind
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Cephalopholis argus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Cephalopholis argus (Peacock hind)
Cephalopholis argus
Picture by Randall, J.E.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Serranoidei (Groupers) > Epinephelidae (Groupers)
Etymology: Cephalopholis: Greek, kephale = head + Greek, pholis = scale (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Schneider.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 0 - 40 m (Ref. 37816), usually 1 - 15 m (Ref. 90102). Tropical; 24°C - 28°C; 29°N - 34°S, 33°E - 122°W (Ref. 5222)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea to Durban, South Africa and eastward to French Polynesia and the Pitcairn group, north to the Ryukyu and Ogasawara islands, south to northern Australia and Lord Howe Island. May be confused with Cephalopholis cyanostigma.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 22 - ? cm
Max length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 11441); common length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5450)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15 - 17; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 9. This species is distinguished by the following characters: greatest body depth 2.7-3.3 in SL; dorsal soft rays usually 16-17; pectoral fin rays usually 16-17; longitudinal scale series 95-110; caudal fin rounded; pelvic fins short , 1.9-2.4 in head length. Colour of body dark brown, with small black-edged blue spots; often with 5-6 pale bars on rear part of body and a large pale area over the chest (abdominal/pectoral region) (Ref. 39231, 90102).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

A generally common species (Ref. 9710). Adults are benthic and benthopelagic in a variety of coral habitats (Ref. 58534, 58302) from tide pools to depths of at least 40 m; preferring the 1 to 10 m reef zone. Juveniles prefer shallow, protected coral thickets (Ref. 37816). Mature adults are found in social units comprising up to 12 adults, including 1 dominant male and each group occupies a specific area (up to 2,000 sq. m.) that is defended by the territorial male and subdivided into secondary territories, each inhabited by a single female (Ref. 39231). At times, they may also be solitary (Ref. 90102). Adults feed mainly on fishes (75-95%) and to a lesser extent on crustaceans. In the Red Sea, they feed early in the morning and late afternoon (Ref. 6775) but in Madagascar, they appear to feed more at night (Ref. 6774). They are implicated in ciguatera at some of the islands in the Pacific region. They can be seen in Hong Kong live fish markets (Ref. 27253). They are important to artisanal fisheries throughout the Indo-West Pacific region and often caught with hook-and-line, spear, and in traps (Ref. 39231). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Heemstra, P.C. and J.E. Randall, 1993. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 16. Groupers of the world (family Serranidae, subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(16):382 p. (Ref. 5222)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 24 April 2017

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 4690)





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
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Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.9 - 29.3, mean 28.4 °C (based on 3533 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01230 (0.01059 - 0.01430), b=3.04 (3.01 - 3.07), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.5   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  High to very high vulnerability (72 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 35.8 [20.4, 60.7] mg/100g; Iron = 0.489 [0.277, 0.892] mg/100g; Protein = 18.7 [16.9, 20.4] %; Omega3 = 0.152 [0.098, 0.235] g/100g; Selenium = 35.2 [19.9, 59.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 148 [53, 474] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.673 [0.495, 1.087] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.