Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Priacanthidae (Bigeyes or catalufas)
Etymology: Heteropriacanthus: Greek, heteros = other + Greek, prion = saw + greek, akantha = thorn (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Lacepède.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 3 - 300 m (Ref. 27000), usually 3 - 35 m (Ref. 40849). Subtropical; 33°N - 32°S, 180°W - 180°E
Atlantic and SW Indian Ocean: restricted. Former circumglobal distribution now accounted to former synonyms H. carolinus (widespread in the Indo-Pacific region) and H. fulgens (northeastern Atlantic Ocean).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.7 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9990); common length : 20.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 55763); max. published weight: 2.7 kg (Ref. 9990)
Dorsal spines (total): 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12 - 13; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 13 - 14. Silvery pink, mottled red or solid red in color; median fins with faint dark dots. Pelvic fins dusky or pale and without distinct spots (Ref. 4328). Section of preopercle behind canal striated and without scales (Ref. 26938).
Common in lagoon and seaward reefs, primarily around islands. Under or near ledges by day (Ref. 9710). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302). Juvenile pelagic (Ref. 9335). Nocturnal (Ref. 5213), feeding mainly on octopi, pelagic shrimp, stomatopods, crabs, small fish, and polychaetes. Solitary (Ref. 5213). During the day usually occurs singly or in small groups but at dusk it may gather in large numbers (Ref. 37816). Known to produce sound. Marketed fresh (Ref. 3800). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 30874.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Fernandez-Silva, I. and H.-C. Ho, 2017. Revision of the cicrumtropical glasseye fish Heteropriacanthus cruentatus (Perciformes: Priacanthidae), with resurrection of two species. Zootaxa 4273(3):341-361. (Ref. 115564)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 23.3 - 29, mean 27.4 °C (based on 2452 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01585 (0.00996 - 0.02523), b=2.88 (2.75 - 3.01), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.6 ±0.2 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 (40 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 26.8 [15.1, 45.6] mg/100g; Iron = 0.664 [0.388, 1.058] mg/100g; Protein = 19.8 [18.7, 20.7] %; Omega3 = 0.249 [0.153, 0.401] g/100g; Selenium = 23.3 [12.4, 43.1] μg/100g; VitaminA = 51.3 [19.6, 136.6] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.625 [0.427, 0.901] mg/100g (wet weight);
